Please note the very limited opening hours. Forward planning may be required - this is reflected in the difficulty.
Whilst Barnsbury Wood is the smallest nature reserve in London at only 0.3 hectares, the woodland is home to a range of wildlife including long tailed tit, lesser stag beetle, common toad and the sixteen spot ladybird.
The Barnsbury area was developed on pastoral land during the mid 19th century. The houses around Thornhill square were built in the 1840s by the Member of Parliament for Huntingdon, George Thornhill. The first ordnance survey map (c. 1871) shows the land as a private garden attached to 7 Huntingdon Street, where Thornhill himself lived. Some of the trees found in the wood today would have been planted around this time.
From the turn of the century the garden was abandoned and used on an ad-hoc basis by surrounding residents. The Thornhill Estate trustees sold the site to a developer and it was eventually bought by the Borough Council Social Services Department in 1974 who planned to develop it. The Barnsbury Wood Co-operative was formed by local residents to fight this proposal and the council dropped plans for development in favour of protecting the woodland and promoting its use as an educational resource for the borough's schools. The ILEA was granted a peppercorn lease in 1983 and a management plan was written by the Polytechnic of North London (now University of North London). The Barnsbury Wood Co-operative continued their management work in the woodland. This included planting trees, shrubs and ground flora, Sycamore thinning, rubbish clearance and the establishment of the glade. With the demise of ILEA, responsibility for the woodland switched to the Nature Conservation team within the London Borough of Islington. In 1996, the site was granted Local Nature Reserve status.
The council-owned houses at 1 and 2 Crescent Street were squatted in the late 1970s and demolished on eviction. This provided access from the street into Barnsbury Wood for the first time. Wrought-iron gates were erected in 1993, followed by formal planting of the entrance area in 1994. This planting was replaced by a new wildlife garden in 2008.
The main tree species found here are Ash, Horse Chestnut, Common Lime and London Plane. Some of the other plants that can be found here are Cow Parsley, Common Comfrey, Yellow Archangel, Snowdrops and Bluebells.
The wood is used by Islington Nature Conservation Team for teaching and is host to a wide range of community events throughout the year.
Please note, dogs are not allowed.
This cache is placed with the very kind permission of the Islington Nature Conservation Team (Thanks Louisa!)