Old Park Wood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in

Harefield Harefield is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, northwest of Charing Cross near Greater London's boundary with Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the north. The population at the 2011 Census was 7,399. Haref ...

in the

London Borough of Hillingdon The London Borough of Hillingdon () is the largest and westernmost borough in West London, England. It was formed from the districts of Hayes and Harlington, Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the ceremonial county ...

. The south-east part is an

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

owned and managed by the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. The site is ancient woodland which dates back to the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

. It was part of Harefield Park, which had an eighteenth-century house which later became the site of

Harefield Hospital Harefield Hospital is a health institution in Harefield, London Borough of Hillingdon, England. It is managed by the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. History The first hospital on the site was the No. 1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital ...

. The hilly site is almost wholly wooded, and one of the floristically richest ancient woods in the London area.Natural England, Old Park Wood SSSI designation
/ref> Its highlight is the abundance of flowers in spring, with a carpet of bluebells together with yellow archangel,

lesser celandine ''Ficaria verna'' (formerly ''Ranunculus ficaria'' ), commonly known as lesser celandine or pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae native to Europe and Western Asia. It has fleshy dar ...

, wood anemone and the rare coral root bittercress ( cardamina bulbifera). The site is dissected by small valleys and has a variety of types of soil and plants. The trees are mainly oak, birch, hornbeam and ash.

Golden saxifrage ''Chrysosplenium'' (golden saxifrage or golden-saxifrage) is a genus of 57Soltis, D.E. (2001)Phylogenetic relationships and evolution in ''Chrysosplenium'' (Saxifragaceae) based on matK sequence data ''Am J Bot'' 88:883-893 species of flowering ...

and marsh marigolds grow along small streams and there is a pond which is important for dragonflies and invertebrates. There is a good variety of birds, including nuthatch and all three British species of woodpecker. The site lies behind

. There is no access from the hospital, but a footpath along its border fence from Hill End Road leads to the Herts & Middlesex nature reserve. This may be closed as a developer disputes the right of way. Another footpath between Summerhouse Lane and Hill End Road goes through the SSSI, skirting the northern boundary of the nature reserve. The

London Loop The London Outer Orbital Path — more usually the "London LOOP" — is a 150-mile (242 km) signed walk along public footpaths, and through parks, woods and fields around the edge of Outer London, England, described as "the M ...

goes along this footpath.London Loop, Section 13
/ref>

References

{{Parks and open spaces in London Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hillingdon Sites of Special Scientific Interest in London Ancient woods of London Forests and woodlands of London Nature reserves in the London Borough of Hillingdon Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust reserves

See also

References