Ecology
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 4 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.
History
The earliest archaeological evidence for people living and working on the land where Perivale Wood is today was established by the discovery of Mesolithic flints dating from roughly 6,000 years ago.
The first written record for Perivale Wood can be found in the Victoria County History, where it is recorded that the “wood called Broadhedge, Braddish or later Perivale Wood was in the possession of Westminster by 1227”. Westminster Abbey and, following the dissolution of the monasteries, the Church of England owned the wood until the Selborne Society bought it in 1922.
Today, although only a remnant of its former size, Perivale Wood is an important ancient woodland, not only for its flora and fauna, but also for the archaeological evidence contained within the reserve.
