Local Wildlife Site

Accessible Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation

Scratchwood
Borough: Barnet
Grade: Metropolitan
Access: Free public access (all/most of site)
Area: 56.58 ha

Description

Scratchwood is an extensive country park, including a large and varied area of woodland (parts of which are ancient), with some neutral and acid grassland, scrub and wetland habitats in and around it. The ancient woodland consists mostly of sessile oak and hornbeam, with some wild service-tree. Other, naturally regenerated woodland areas consist predominantly of birch, hawthorns and sycamore.

Wildlife

In springtime there is a good show of bluebells here. The woodland floor also supports many locally uncommon plants, such as sanicle, yellow pimpernel, great woodrush, lady-fern, narrow buckler-fern and opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage.On the herb-rich grassland uncommon species include heath-grass, dyer's greenweed and pepper-saxifrage. A large, stream-fed pond supports a variety of aquatic plants including the London rarities pond water-crowfoot, cyperus sedge and sharp-flowered rush. Nuthatch, lesser whitethroat and cuckoo are among the breeding birds present in the site.

Facilities

Nature trail.
Ancient hornbeam pollard in Scratch Wood © Jan Hewlett

Ancient hornbeam pollard in Scratch Wood © Jan Hewlett
Opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage © Mike Waite

Opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage © Mike Waite

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

Additional information, including other site designations and species recorded onsite and nearby, can be provided in community and client data search reports. Request information here.