Two woods, Darrick Wood and Newstead Wood make up this site. It includes the grasslands around the woods and between them. Further diversity is added to the high-quality habitats on the site by the stream on the western edge of Darrick Wood, with its associated flushes (damp areas) and a nearby pond. The London LOOP passes through the site.
Local Wildlife Site
Accessible Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation
Darrick Wood
Borough: Bromley
Grade: Borough Grade I
Access: Free public access (all/most of site)
Area: 23.97 ha
Description
Wildlife
Darrick Wood and the smaller Newstead Wood to the north-east are ancient woods with large oaks over outgrown coppice. The rich ground flora includes a few early-purple orchids. The stream flows through an area of alder woodland. The flushes associated with it support a diverse wetland plant community, including large bittercress, an uncommon species in London. The nearby pond has breeding great crested newts. Around the edges of the woodland are grasslands of varying quality. In the small field between Newstead and Darrick Woods there is a good range of common wild flowers and meadow flora including the London notable species common spotted orchid, grass vetchling, and corky-fruited water-dropwort. In a large area of grassland to the south-east of Darrick Wood, the corky-fruited water-dropwort is present in very large colonies and grass vetchling is abundant. Meadow saxifrage has been recorded within the grassland of the site. The site has a good range of common bird species.Facilities
Walking route
Grass vetchling © Dave Dawson
Feedback
Have a question or a comment for this site, or notice anything missing or out of date? Please contact us.