History walk through One Tree Hill - 23rd September

Andrew Orford and Alona Sheridan will lead us on a history walk through One Tree Hill on Sunday 23rd September, 2:30pm. Meet at Honor Oak Park station.

Garthorne Road Nature Reserve Walk

Saturday 14th May, 2:30pm - Garthorne Road Nature Reserve guided tour. Starting from the end of Beadnell Road


Bitter Vetchling photographed in 2008 in Garthorne Road Nature Reserve. A plant in the pea family which is rare in London.

Dacres Wood Nature Reserve

The Forest Hill Society had over 80 people of all ages visit the Dacres Wood Nature Reserve.

Information was provided by Alona Sheridan and Steve Grindlay about the history and natural features of the area. Steve Grinlay has kindly made his notes and maps available to us and they can be viewed here.

Below are a few pictures from the afternoon.

Alona speaking	Reflections...
Toad Spawn	Information and Activities

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Wednesday 25th March 7.30-9.30pm
Forest Hill Ward Assembly Meeting. Living Springs International Church, 8-10 Devonshire Road, London SE23 3TJ

Thursday 7th May - 7:30pm
Forest Hill Society GENERAL MEETING - The Hob, 7 Devonshire Road SE23 3HE

OUT AND ABOUT
Sunday 29th March at 2pm
Nature and history walk at Dacres Wood Nature Reserve. Meet in the grassy area in front of the reserve gates, (to the left of Homefield House.) Led by Alona Sheridan & Steve Grindlay.

Thursday 30th April - Pub Crawl.
Starts 7.30pm at the Railway Telegraph, 112 Stanstead Rd, SE23 1BS. Ends at Mr Lawrence's Wine Bar, 391 Brockley Road, SE4 2PH

Monday 4th May from midday
May Day Tidy plus picnic. Albion Millennium Green. Entrance at the end of Albion Villas Road, off Sydenham Park Road.

THE 23 CLUB
Monday March 23 at 8pm - classic Italian.
The Old Bank, 76-78 Honor Oak Park SE23 1DY Phone 8291 1738.

Thursday April 23 at 8pm
The Dartmouth Arms pub, 7 Dartmouth Road SE23 3HN Phone 8488 3117

Saturday May 23 at 8pm
The Thai Orchard, 3 David's Road SE23 3EP Phone 8291 3901

Environment and Leisure Committee

We love being close to the big metropolis and having all the amenities that come with urban living. But we also love the tranquil, green spaces that make SE23 so special. James Marmion is on a mission to make Forest Hill a community we can all enjoy and we’re delighted that he’s volunteered to chair the Society’s Environment and Leisure Committee. We asked him to set out his vision.

I’ve lived in Forest Hill for ten years and in southeast London for twenty. Before coming to London, I lived in Liverpool, overlooking a lovely beach now filled with figures made by Anthony Gormley, the Peckham sculptor (which makes it even lovelier).

In SE23 we benefit from all the good places to go out that come with being close to a big metropolis. But the main reason I became involved with the Forest Hill Society was to try to round off some of the sharper urban edges that come with being next to that great metropolis. So what do we need to do?

We need to foster our green spaces. It’s been great to see the continuing development of the green chain walks and we have an active community presence at our several local nature reserves at Devonshire, Garthorne and Dacres Roads. We’ve organised a walk around Dacres Road reserve to raise its profile, stimulate involvement and, not least, admire the last remaining remnants of the canal that preceded the railway line. We’ve also combined volunteering with relaxation by organising a tidy-up followed by a picnic in one of our hidden away green spots. Elsewhere, I’d like to build support for the excellent community idea of using the vacant lot next to One Tree Hill allotments as a family allotment space.

We should promote green issues too – such as supporting the Eco Street project running in the “Rockbourne Triangle” and persuading the council to rollout benefits such as improved recycling schemes across SE23.

We need to smarten up our streetscape and immediate surroundings. The Honor Oak Park Action Group has performed wonders to improve the look of Honor Oak’s Parade and station. Wouldn’t it be good if we could have a similar, community driven group to smarten up London Road and Forest Hill station? Friends and neighbours often complain about how development of our area is handicapped by the presence of the South Circular Road. So how do we turn a handicap into a virtue? Can we improve the road with street art or planting? The railway bridge too is in desperate need of smartening up - a shame as it has the potential to provide a wonderful welcome point to Forest Hill with a good clean, a lick of paint and a well-designed sign.

Most of all I’d love to see children and families get involved – harnessing that sense of civic pride for those growing up or settling down in the area – and having our local schools and youth clubs join in with environmental projects.

I need to hear your ideas too. If you want to drop me a line about them, or if you’re inspired to get involved with what we’re doing, you can write to me at james@foresthillsociety.com.

This Green and Pleasant Land

If you'd ever like to impress your visitors with the greenness of SE23, then we can recommend the walking route from Sydenham Wells Park to One Tree Hill. Well-kept gardens, dense woodland, panoramic views - we have everything on our doorstep.

On 25th May, Peter Frost of the Friends of One Tree Hill led this walk in perfect weather - in spite of the torrential rain throughout the morning. It took us two hours at a leisurely pace with lots of stops whilst Peter filled us in on local history, flora and fauna.

Without the stops, you could do it in an hour. It's a tricky route to do with a buggy because of the swing gates in Sydenham Woods but the 7 month old in our group certainly enjoyed herself being carried in a sling. The vicar of St Augustine's on One Tree Hill had very kindly invited us to use the church's facilities at the end of the walk and there were refreshments there as well.

There are plenty of buses that go past both ends of this walk so you can certainly leave the car at home.

GREEN CHAIN WALK - 25th May

The popular Green Chain walk linking South East London’s open spaces is being extended to SE23. We’re celebrating this by organising a guided walk along the proposed route from Sydenham Wells Park to One Tree Hill.

The more green corridors we can keep open in our urban environments, the more pleasant it is for us all to enjoy walking. At the moment, the Green Chain covers 16.5 miles of green walks from Crystal Palace to three points on the River Thames.

According to its website, www.greenchain.com, the Green Chain has “helped to protect and improve our open spaces so helping to prevent further building taking place.”

The plan is to create a spur which heads out from Crystal Palace to Sydenham Wells Park, through the woods, across the Horniman Gardens, to One Tree Hill and then on to Nunhead cemetery.

Our walk starts at 2pm at the pond in Sydenham Wells Park and should take about 2 hours. Although there is an off-road element, it should be OK for buggies. It will be led by Peter Frost from the Friends of One Tree Hill who will talk about some of the local history along the route.

If you are planning on driving to Sydenham Wells Park, you can return on the 363 bus which goes from Forest Hill Road up Sydenham Hill.