Perivale Wood Local Nature Reserve

About the Reserve

The Reserve occupies 27 acres with a rich variety of habitats:

18 acres of ancient mixed oak woodland
5 acres of pasture land
2 acres of damp scrub
2 acres of relatively recently disturbed land, which has a very different vegetation from the ancient woodland.
there are five ponds and two small streams

Within the Reserve you can find:

600 species of fungi
544 species of moths
30 species of molluscs
17 species of mammals
24 species of trees
250 species of vascular plants
36 species of mosses and liverworts
115 species of birds, of which 40 breed regularly
approximately 3.9 million flowering bluebells

The Reserve offers excellent opportunities for observation, conservation and
education. There are two bird hides (one is only open for organised events).

To download a map of the Reserve click here.

Location

The entrance to the reserve is between 36 and 38 Sunley Gardens, Perivale, UB6 7PE. Perivale tube station, on the Central line, is a 5 minute walk away.

The 297 bus stops nearby, in both directions. The E5 and 95 both stop on
Teignmouth Gardens, a 10 minute walk away.

If you can, why not walk or cycle to the reserve to reduce your carbon footprint.

Car parking is available in the surrounding streets with restrictions between
10-11am and 2- 3pm on weekdays. There are car parks on both sides of the tube station – one takes coins, the other only takes payments by mobile phone.

Access to the reserve

The Reserve gates are normally locked but members can borrow a key to the
reserve from Perivale Library or the adjacent Cafe Rendezvous., although neither is open on every weekday. The opening hours of the library and the cafe are, however, published on their respective websites:

You need to take your membership card with you to borrow a key and where
possible, return it as soon as you leave the Reserve. This will help ensure other
members aren’t disappointed. All our members are welcome to bring friends and family for a visit to the Reserve. We do ask that if you are planning on bringing a large group (six people or more) you let us know (by phone or by email ), as we’re trying to monitor how many visitors we have each year to help us manage the impact on the wildlife.

Groups

We do require that all organised groups go through our booking process – there’s usually no charge, just a request for donations – but again notifying us helps us make sure that we have the right risk assessments in place and that we know who is using the wood and for what reasons, so we can build that in to our management plan.

Your visit

Visitors’ Code

We have produced a guide to responsible use of the reserve, which you can
download here . The key messages of this guide are:

Respect the ecology of the reserve – don’t remove any of the wood’s flora
and fauna and don’t bring any into the reserve.
Go placidly – avoid disturbing the wildlife and other visitors and “remember what peace there may be in silence”.
Tread lightly – stick to marked paths and don’t bring in any animals (apart from registered guide dogs)
Leave no trace – take all litter home with you – there’s no refuse collection at the reserve. Furthermore, barbecues, fires. fireworks and sky lanterns must not be lit within the Reserve.

Security

Secure access to the Reserve is very important, and we would ask you all, when
visiting the reserve, to lock the gates after entering, as well as when you leave.

Please don’t allow anyone else to enter while you are there unless they have a key too. The wood is as safe and secure as it can be but there is always the risk of an unforeseen accident or event occurring which might endanger your safety. We ask all visitors to take sensible precautions including visiting with a companion and bringing a mobile phone with you.