With the traineeship ending soon I wanted to share some spots amongst the Great North Wood that I’ve come across in the last few months which I highly recommend visiting if you’re in the area.

First off, we have the Fairy Doors in Spa Wood! These are the cutest little creations done by the Friends of Spa Wood back in 2019 as a part of a ‘magical’ nature trail which also includes some very interesting wooden sculptures!

Second on the list we have the Folly in Sydenham Hill Woods, I was fascinated by this when I saw it on a Bat Walk a couple of months ago, apparently this was built as a Ruin when the Woods were Victorian gardens, which to me kind of ruins the effect, but nevertheless it’s definitely worth visiting it if you’re into architectural remnants.

Next, we’re taking you to Biggin Wood to see some trees, and I know you’re probably thinking ‘can’t I see trees in any park?’, well the answer is yes but these Woods have some particularly interesting shapes and marks as seen below! Which one catches your eye the most? My personal favourite is the monkey puzzle tree in the second image, just look at the patterns on it!

Last but not least! I am taking you to Beaulieu Heights to go look for this tree! Once again, you’re probably thinking ‘why would I go running around some woods looking for one tree?’ I definitely questioned it when Great North Wood Project Officer Max was making us walk around in the rain to go see this tree, but trust me, I have never seen anything like it! Look at the size of the trunk, the change in the patterns from the bottom to the ones on top, and the way it somewhat twists up (see second image for details). Definitely my favourite tree in any of the London Wildlife Trust sites.

That’s it from me for today! I hope you enjoyed my little series and it’s inspired at least one of you to go out see some of the interesting things that the Great North Wood has to offer!

- Jennifer