Claybury Park

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Claybury Park occupies the south-facing slopes of a ridge east of Woodford Bridge. It includes parkland associated with Claybury Hall and ancient woodland formerly in the grounds of Claybury Hospital. From high on the slope there are spectacular views over East London, Docklands and the Kent hills.

The parkland design was influenced by Humphry Repton, who lived not far away in Romford. Several historic landscape features have survived, including Cocked Hat Plantation (a linear woodland of oak, birch and hornbeam), Ash Plantation (dense elm scrub with mature oak and grey poplar – no ash!) and Egg Clump (oak, ash and hawthorn).

The western part of the ancient woodland, Claybury Wood, contains many ancient hornbeam coppice stools and pollard oaks and is carpeted with bluebells and wood anemones in spring. It also has many wild service trees, butchers broom and broad-leaved helleborine orchids. Hospital Hill Wood to the east is a fine woodland dominated by oak.

The soils are varied and this makes for variety in the grassland plants. These support a variety of the commoner grassland butterflies, including small heath.