The River Wandle is a tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about 9 miles (14 km), the river passes through the London boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth, where it reaches the Thames. A short headwater – the Caterham Bourne – is in Surrey, the historic county of the river's catchment. Tributaries of the Wandle include the River Wrythe and the Norbury Brook.
The London Borough of Croydon has over 120 parks and open spaces within its boundaries, ranging from the 200 acre (80ha) Selsdon Wood Nature Reserve to many recreation grounds and sports fields scattered throughout the Borough. Croydon covers an area of 86.52 km², the 256th largest district in England. Croydon's physical features consist of many hills and rivers that are spread out across the borough and into the North Downs, Surrey and the rest of South London. Some of the open spaces in Croydon form part of the well-known London LOOP walks where the first section was opened on 3 May 1996 with a ceremony on Farthing Downs in Coulsdon. As a borough in Outer London it also contains some open countryside in the form of country parks. Croydon Council is associated with several other boroughs who are taking part in the Downlands Countryside Management Project. These boroughs are Sutton; and by Surrey County Council; the City of London Corporation; the Surrey districts of Reigate and Banstead and Tandridge; and the Countryside Agency. An additional partner is Natural Britain.
Stanmore Country Park is a 30.7 hectare public park, Local Nature Reserve and Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation in Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It is owned and managed by Harrow London Borough Council.
Ruislip Woods is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserve covering 726 acres (294 ha) in Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The woods became the second national nature reserve in an urban area of England in May 1997, receiving the Green Flag Award in 2006. Ruislip Local Nature Reserve at TQ 090 899 is part of the national nature reserve.
Oak Hill Wood is a 10-hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) and a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation Grade I, in East Barnet, London. It is owned by the London Borough of Barnet, and part of it is a 5.5-hectare nature reserve managed by the London Wildlife Trust.
Happy Valley Park is a public park in Coulsdon in the London Borough of Croydon. It is owned and managed by Croydon Council. Located in the Green Belt, most of it forms part of the Farthing Downs and Happy Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Dacres Wood is a small local nature reserve in Forest Hill in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is owned and managed by Lewisham Council.
Dulwich Upper Wood is a 2.4 hectare local nature reserve and Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1, in Crystal Palace in the London Borough of Southwark. It is owned by Southwark Council and managed by the Trust for Urban Ecology.
Coombe Hill Wood is a 2 hectare local nature reserve in Coombe in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London. It is owned and managed by Kingston Council, and was declared a local nature reserve in 1992.
Grove Farm is an 8 hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in Greenford in the London Borough of Ealing. It was declared an LNR in 2002 by Ealing Council, which owns and manages the site.
Bramley Bank is a 10.3 hectare local nature reserve in Upper Shirley in the London Borough of Croydon. It is owned by Croydon Council and managed by the London Wildlife Trust.
Ruffett Wood and Big Wood are adjoining woods with a total area of 7 hectares on the border of the London Borough of Sutton, close to the village of Woodmansterne. Big Wood is to the south and Ruffett Wood is to the north. They are owned by Sutton Council and managed by the Woodland Trust. They are designated a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1. The woods are the largest continuous area of woodland in the borough of Sutton.
Myrna Close is a linear walk along the line of a former railway line in Colliers Wood in the London Borough of Merton. It is a 0.75 hectare Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II, which is owned and managed by Merton Council.
Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Wood is a 1.7 hectare Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade I, in Motspur Park in the London Borough of Merton. It adjoins Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Playing Fields, and both are owned and managed by Merton Council.
The Wood is a public park in Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London. Part of it is a bird sanctuary named after the naturalist Richard Jefferies. According to Natural England it is managed by the London Wildlife Trust, but as of August 2015 it is not on the Trust's list of sites. The 1.5-hectare site is designated as a Local Nature Reserve called 'The Wood and Richard Jefferies Bird Sanctuary'.
Castle Hill is a 3.5 hectare Scheduled Ancient Monument, Local Nature Reserve and Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1, in Chessington in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. It is owned by Merton College, Oxford, and leased to Kingston Council. The site is managed by the Lower Mole Countryside Management Project.
Oak Avenue is a 1.85 hectare Local Nature Reserve and Grade II Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation in Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is owned and managed by Richmond upon Thames Borough Council.
Long Wood is a 1.2 hectare Local Nature Reserve and Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1, in Norwood Green in the London Borough of Ealing. It is owned and managed by Ealing Council.
Gutteridge Wood and Meadows is a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in Yeading in the London Borough of Hillingdon, which is owned by Hillingdon Council and managed by the London Wildlife Trust (LWT). It is also part of the Yeading Brook Meadows Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, which includes two neighbouring reserves managed by the LWT, Ten Acre Wood and Yeading Brook Meadows LNRs.
Northaw Great Wood is a 223.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near Cuffley in Hertfordshire, England. It covers Northaw Great Wood Country Park, which is managed by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, Well Wood, Justice Hill and Grimes Bottom. Part of the site is managed by Hertfordshire County Council as a schools' park. The country park is also a local nature reserve.
