Explore our brand new Great North Wood walks in the Go Jauntly app
New Great North Wood Forest-Bathing Trails in South East London
London Wildlife Trust and Go Jauntly are very proud to be teaming up to bring some brand new forest-bathing walking trails to the Go Jauntly app.
The new walking routes take in remnants of the Great North Wood in South East London which is an ancient landscape of woodland and wooded commons. The woods once covered the high ground between Deptford and Selhurst, essentially spreading from the River Thames all the way to Croydon. Today the Wood consists of a series of small woodlands, parks, cemeteries, sports grounds, railway embankments and gardens – all of which provide a home for nature within a modern urban landscape and acts as an effective ‘green lung’ to clean the air and provide a place for people to relax and enjoy.
There are around 20 woodlands or wooded areas where you can still see green woodpeckers high in the trunks of oak trees and purple hairstreak butterflies floating among the leaves.
The green spaces spaces include:
One Tree Hill
Sydenham Hill Wood
Biggin Wood
Crystal Palace Park
And many others.
History shows that throughout the Middle Ages, The Great North Wood had a history of strong ownership by local people and was managed for timber (including shipbuilding), charcoal, tannin (for Bermondsey’s leather-making industries), as well as firewood. It’s great to be able to help raise awareness of this largely forgotten woodland and to be able to encourage more people to discover and enjoy them.
Try one of these amazing new routes this weekend!
Go Jauntly and London Wildlife Trust will be continuing to work together to bring new trails to the app across their nature reserve sites in London so watch this space!
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