New Cross Gate Cutting - Restricted Access
Know before you go
Dogs
When to visit
Opening times
Although the site is not open on a regular basis, there are open days and regular workdays. If you would like to volunteer on the site please emailshawkins@wildlondon.org.uk
Best time to visit
April to JulyAbout the reserve
Brockley’s New Cross Gate Cutting is predominantly oak woodland with open glades of neutral and acid grassland in which reeds and tall herbs grow. Some flowers are locally rare, and the site contributes to one of London’s most important railway cuttings for wildlife, stretching southwards to Forest Hill.
The cutting was dug in 1838-39 and still bears the legacy of once being part of the old Great North Wood, and at times the route of the Croydon Canal, brickworks, and wartime allotments.
The site, also once known as Brockley Nature Reserve, contributes to one of the most important railway cuttings for wildlife in London.
History of New Cross Gate Cutting
A narrower cutting at this site was first cut in 1801-03, for the Croydon Canal. Later it was widened as part of the Brighton Main Line that was built along the route. Thanks to its isolation the steep western side of the railway bank, since the 1960s, became a hugely important wooded wildlife site. In 1987 a deal was struck by the Trust with the former British Rail to manage the site, and this arrangement continues today with Network Rail.
Get involved at New Cross Gate Cutting
Record species you've spotted at New Cross Gate Cutting
Open days
The reserve occasionally hosts open days. If you'd like to stay informed about these events and other updates, you can join a WhatsApp group. To join, please email Simon Hawkins at shawkins@wildlondon.org.uk.