This renowned wartime air base, now used for gliding, includes grassland and a small woodland. The disused airport at the centre of the site is privately owned, but the edges of the site beyond the perimeter track are owned by the City of London and managed as part of Kenley Common.
Local Wildlife Site
Accessible Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation
Kenley Aerodrome
Borough: Croydon
Grade: Local
Access: Free public access (part of site)
Area: 62.58 ha
Description
Wildlife
Most of the grassland is neutral in character, but the central and eastern parts are rather more acidic. The acid grasslands have areas of bent grasses with red fescue. Wild flowers growing here include lady's bedstraw and lesser stitchwort. Beside the runway margins grow patches of reflexed stonecrop and sand spurrey. The woodland is dominated by ash, sycamore and wild cherry. Beneath this are bluebells, wood anemone and green hellebore, a rare plant in London. These wildlife habitats extend across the border with Surrey. The open areas attract numbers of interesting birds on passage, such as linnet and wheatear.Facilities
No information available
Green hellebore © Mike Waite
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