Local Wildlife Site

Accessible Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation

Mansfield Park
Borough: Waltham Forest
Grade: Borough Grade II
Access: Free public access (all/most of site)
Area: 8.44 ha

Description

This site lies on a steep slope descending into the Lea Valley, and is mainly grassland with some scrub and wooded areas. The park offers an impressive vista over the Chingford reservoirs and features on the Beckham Trail.

Wildlife

Scrub and scattered trees on the edges and at the northern end of the park are composed chiefly of hawthorn, blackthorn, dog rose, elder, bramble, ash and oak. These areas attract a variety of birds, including house sparrow, whitethroat, blackbird and song thrush. A neglected drain is now largely dry but a little yellow iris and abundant great willowherb still occur there. The rough grassland is probably of some antiquity, as indicated by the abundance of meadow barley. Anthills are made by the yellow meadow ant, and are scattered throughout. The whole area abounds with butterflies, grasshoppers and crickets in the summer months. Wildflower areas were sown within the park in 2020.

Facilities

Waymarked walking route
House sparrow © Andy Fisher

House sparrow © Andy Fisher

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More information on GiGL’s SINC dataset can be found here.

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