-

 A Review of 2024

The year has seen both general maintenance carrying on but also it has been dominated by the reopening of Cox's Walk footbridge. 

The years started with storms and heavy rain which cause water-logging in many low lying areas of the Wood. However, the extensive work improving paths paid off with no main through ways being made impassable or difficult to use. 

At the beginning of November, after many delays, Cox's Walk footbridge was reopened. An excellent job has been done and it is expected that the bridge will need no further major work for many decades to come.  

Volunteers have worked hard to repair the damage done to the Wood during the five years the  bridge was closed. Although a diversion was put in place, fences were broken down and some people preferred to slide down the muddy cutting and up the other side. Since the bridge reopened, dead hedges and new fencing have closed off this unofficial route and extensive planting of new bushes and trees undertaken to help stabilise the slopes. 

The official diversion has been closed as well and, as with the cutting, extensive planting should help return this section of the Wood to how it should be. 

Where the old diversion met the upper path

Helping to explain that the diversion is closed


A very encouraging sign that the Wood is thriving came in the summer with a pair of hobbies being spotted frequently with some hope that they were nesting. More recently, just before Christmas, three buzzards were observed on many occasions, much to the consternation of the resident crows and parakeets. 

Another very important piece of news came in the summer. The management of the adjacent Dulwich Wood will be taken over by the Wildlife Trust and volunteers will be working hard in the same way they have helped bring Sydenham Hill Wood back to peak condition after the privations of lockdown. 

Work in Dulwich Wood has started already. 


To help visualise just how much has been done, compare these photos taken in early 2021 by Site Manager Sam Taylor, with the same places now.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
  Protecting our Wood The trees making up our woodland are a mixture of native species and garden survivors from Victorian development. Before the expansion of London, the Wood was used extensively to provide raw materials for ship-building on the Thames and timber for general building in domestic and agricultural use. As such, many species were coppiced to maintain a steady and reliable supply of wood. Species suitable for this type of woodland management include ash, hornbeam and hazel. When a tree is coppiced, its main trunk is cut down to the ground and soon new side shoots will emerge to grow upwards. Depending on the size and age of this growth, the shoots can be harvested for various uses such as canes, posts and palings. Coppicing can extend the life of the tree enormously and the resulting patchwork of light and dark increases biodiversity. Without coppicing, the woodland will grow old and degenerate, species diversity declines and ecological health suffers. Unfortunately,...
Read more
-
Image
Drains and More Steps   The drainage system on Crescent Wood Road has been causing big problems for the Wood. When there is heavy rain and especially during a thunder storm, polluted water overflows from the drain covers in the road and cascades into the Wood. This has caused damage to the newly improved section of path and steps near the tunnel mouth. It seems Thames Water thinks it has done everything it needs to do, however, the problem remains.  Consequently, the Wood's volunteers have started to put in place mitigation to help tackle this.  Slowly but surely, new steps are being added to the main path down from the Crescent Wood Road entrance. These should help where heavy footfall and water damage have eroded the path to make it uneven. The new steps use materials from the Wood such as branches as well as recycled material such as scaffolding and decking boards. The steps are backfilled with crushed concrete and then topped with li...
Read more
-
Image
Finding the Villas....Part 3 Fairwood Of all the villas along Sydenham Hill, Fairwood has left the best-known relic, the folly and its accompanying cascade. However , the re are other clues as to its existance. Just inside the fence along Sydenham Hill, there is a gate-post complete with ironwork, there are footings for greenhouses and, against the wall separating it from Beechgrove, there is lead flashing suggesting a hot house of some sort. There are also the remains of the main terrace and its cellars.     Remains of Fairwood.   Gate post for Fairwood's drive. Fairwood's cellar wall, in the background, a chute, perhaps for coal deliveries? Steps leading down from the terrace to the garden. The wall between Fairwood and Beechgrove. What was once a lean-to greenhouse, note remnants of a plaster coating and eyes in the brickwork for training vines.  O.S. maps show terraces in Fairwood's garden. The sudden change in level suggests this is one of them. Half way down f...
Read more