About
Where it is: Our woodlands cover ? % of the park. Forming a horseshoe shape, it stretches from the westside to the eastside of the park, broken only by the southside park entrance.
Uncreatively but descriptively called our East and West Woodland each has its own hidden gems to discover.
Find and follow our short, but interesting wilderness loop (wheelchair friendly) in the East Woodlands and you will discover another one of the small reminders of the park’s history. Remnants of the old Victorian Privies, from the parks cattle market heritage. If you didn’t know privy is the old fashioned name for loo/toilet. What a thought…150 plus year old loo tiles and fixtures. Please don’t think we have not upgraded since then, our modern loos are available beside our café.
Our larger West Woodland is filled with many tranquil paths to explore and many unexpected treats and surprises.
Look out for the Woodland Amphitheatre and its backdrop made of locally created murals. Whilst we are still searching for our own resident William Shakespeare, many fun and unusual presentations occur here. Available for public use, find out more Contact US
Our Tree circle classroom can be found in this area and can be freely used during the park’s opening times.
There is even a secluded Pet Memory Wall located in these woodlands. Here many of our former doggie friends of the park are remembered. To find out more Contact US
What Plant/Tree life to look out for: The woodlands are home to a wide variety of trees and plants. Willows and Walnuts are mixed with Oaks and Sloe trees to create as much biodiversity as possible. N.B. Miriam. Try and find an interesting tree in the park. The woodland needs an anchor, something you can give people a reason to have pride, talk about, look out for E.g. Look out for our 50-year-old Oak tree planted in the 1970s, it might be a baby in Oak tree years, but it shows what we can all achieve in our lifetime.
What Insect/Bird/Animal life to look out for: Some of our resident friends you might see around the woodlands include woodpeckers, squirrels, robins, magpies, wood pigeons, and foxes. Not forgetting our part-time resident Peregrine Falcon (More often seen on top of the clocktower “Great view to see lunch”.)
Also look out for our many visitors including…. (N.B. Text supplied Miriam)
Things to do
Want to do more than just have a tranquil walk? There are a variety of activities available to visitors of The Woodlands from Kids Woodland picnics to School Educational trips. Here are a few you can do:
Big Garden Bird Watch– Help the RSPB with its annual Bird count as you wander through our woodlands.
Monkey Catch Day – Help London Zoo recover their escaped Orangutans.
Projects
There are a variety of projects ongoing in the woodland.
Islington Ecology Team – Tree topping.
CPFG – Constructing Dead Hedges
Islington Ecology Team – Constructing a wildlife refuge.
Woodland Trust – Constructing Canopy Nesting.