Local Wildlife Site

Wildlife

The Wandle supports grey wagtails and kingfishers, and the associated lake has a breeding pair of little grebes. A separate pond, which lies about 100 metres north of the river, contains a variety of plants, such as common spike-rush, celery-leaved crowfoot and marsh foxtail. Beneath the water is a range of oxygenating plants, including star-wort and curled pondweed. Sticklebacks, frogs, toads and newts breed here. The extensive damp meadow which borders the river contains several wet-loving plants such as marsh bedstraw, marsh thistle, various sedges and the regionally rare imperforate St John's-wort. The attractive formal gardens of the Grange (a public house in the west of the park) contain wildflowers such as autumn lady's tresses, an orchid which is also rare in London, as well as lady's bedstraw.The walls and gravestones of St Mary's Churchyard in the east of the park support an interesting range of ferns and lichens. The whole site also supports a broad range of birds, including treecreeper, nuthatch, all three British woodpeckers and occasional rare migrants visiting from the adjacent Beddington Farmlands to the north. Both soprano and common pipistrelles as well as serotine and noctule bats use the site to forage. Mature hybrid black poplars support the uncommon hornet clearwing moth.

Facilities

Car parking; toilets; playground; cafe; waymarked walking route.