Copthall Railway Walk and Copthall Old Common
Encyclopedia
Copthall Railway Walk and Copthall Old Common is an 11 hectares (27.2 acre) Local Nature Reserve
, Borough Grade II, in Mill Hill
in the London Borough of Barnet
.
Copthall Railway Walk is a section just under a mile long of the Mill Hill East to Edgware
line, closed in 1964, of the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway
. It starts at a bridge under Sanders Lane, near Bittacy Hill, and goes through another bridge under Sanders Lane near Bittacy Rise, finishing at Page Street. Copthall Old Common is south of the central section of the Railway Walk.
The reserve is mainly woodland, with some scrub and rough grassland. The woodland is dominated by sycamore
, oak
and silver birch
. The site has a good range of common birds and the rare and declining glow worm. To the south of the common is a green lane which goes by a public footpath through allotments to the Great North Way. It has some fine old oaks, and bluebells in the hedge bottom.
Local Nature Reserve
Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...
, Borough Grade II, in Mill Hill
Mill Hill
Mill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a suburb situated 9 miles north west of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until it was absorbed by London...
in the London Borough of Barnet
London Borough of Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet is a London borough in North London and forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 331,500 and covers . It borders Hertfordshire to the north and five other London boroughs: Harrow and Brent to the west, Camden and Haringey to the south-east and Enfield to the...
.
Copthall Railway Walk is a section just under a mile long of the Mill Hill East to Edgware
Edgware
Edgware is an area in London, situated north-northwest of Charing Cross. It forms part of both the London Borough of Barnet and the London Borough of Harrow. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
line, closed in 1964, of the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway
Edgware, Highgate and London Railway
The Edgware, Highgate and London Railway was a railway in north London. The railway was a precursor of parts of London Underground's Northern Line and was, in the 1930s the core of an ambitious expansion plan for that line which was thwarted by the Second World War...
. It starts at a bridge under Sanders Lane, near Bittacy Hill, and goes through another bridge under Sanders Lane near Bittacy Rise, finishing at Page Street. Copthall Old Common is south of the central section of the Railway Walk.
The reserve is mainly woodland, with some scrub and rough grassland. The woodland is dominated by sycamore
Sycamore
Sycamore is a name which is applied at various times and places to three very different types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms....
, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and silver birch
Silver Birch
Betula pendula is a widespread European birch, though in southern Europe it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey and the Caucasus...
. The site has a good range of common birds and the rare and declining glow worm. To the south of the common is a green lane which goes by a public footpath through allotments to the Great North Way. It has some fine old oaks, and bluebells in the hedge bottom.