Sydenham Hill Wood Work

Hedging the Future      The upper path at Cox's Walk Bridge eastern entrance, as it was in November 2020. The old dead-hedge which is being replaced is to the right of the path. The first workday of 2022 saw volunteers starting to plant hedging along the western side of the upper path. It is intended that this hedge will run from the kissing gate on the eastern side of Cox's Walk Bridge for about a hundred metres of so. It comprises of four native species of hedging plants; wild privet, hazel, blackthorn and hawthorn. It will replace the dead hedge which used to act as the boundary to the path but has deteriorated to the point of collapse. Of course, the new hedge will provide food and cover for birds, invertebrates and small mammals.   It is a large undertaking that will take a few workdays to complete. However, the following photos will give an idea of the work being done.    The old dead-hedge is being removed and invasive vegetation like brambles and ho...

A Year in the Wood - A Review of 2021   photo Sam Taylor   2021 has been a year of contrasts but as regular visitors have commented, it is looking much better at the end than it did at the start. Here are some of the high and lows of the year. The start of the year seemed very much at a low point. Regular visitors were puzzled to find all the entrance gates locked and a lively debate speculating as the cause erupted on the local online forum. It turned out that an illegal party in the tunnel had been organised and those in charge had chained and locked the entrances. With hindsight, it's presumed that this wasn't a business meeting with cheese and wine. Southwark has since increased security by installing much stronger bars and locks on the tunnel entrance so hopefully this won't be repeated. Another low point was the suspension of volunteering as another lock-down was imposed. This, along with the increased visitor number meant that paths, both official and unofficial took...