Immediately southwest of Ingrebourne Marshes and to the south of Hornchurch Country Park, Ingrebourne Hill was restored from a former landfill quarry site to become a valuable resource for both local people and wildlife. You can also access part of the London LOOP walking route.
Local Wildlife Site
Accessible Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation
Ingrebourne Hill
Borough: Havering
Grade: Borough Grade II
Access: Free public access (all/most of site)
Area: 57.88 ha
Description
Wildlife
Parts of the gentle slopes and low ground to the north and west were planted up with trees in 2008, mainly native broadleaves with some scots pine. This left large areas of open grassland containing a variety of flowering plants, both native and alien. The large, flattish area on top of the hill is particularly rich in flowers, among them knapweed, goat's rue, red clover, creeping thistle, yarrow, ox-eye daisy and creeping cinquefoil, and forms a valuable foraging resource for insects, including a national rarity, the brown-banded carder bee. At its southern tip are two large lakes fringed with common reed and willow. These form a valuable resource for breeding birds, including great crested grebe, little grebe, mallard, coot and mute swan, and for over-wintering wildfowl. This substantial mosaic of grassland, maturing woodland and water bodies provides habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, and valuable supporting habitat and protection for the southern section of the Ingrebourne Marshes SSSI.Facilities
Picnic area; car park; accessible parking spaces; mountain bike course; bridleways; play area
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