Oxleas Wood

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Oxleas Wood is one of the few remaining areas of ancient deciduous forest in the London Borough of Greenwich in southeast London, dating back over 8,000 years. It is part of a larger area on the south side of Shooter's Hill: other parts are Jack Wood, Sheperdleas Wood, Oxleas Meadows, Falconwood Field and Eltham Park North (the latter being divided by the A2 main road from its southern section). It is a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, covering 72 hectares with oak, silver birch, hornbeam, coppice hazel, and a great number of fine samples of the Wild Service Tree.

It covers most of the top of Shooters Hill (in the London Borough of Greenwich), and contains a folly called Severndroog Castle.

There is an underground water reservoir in the grassed area called Oxleas Meadow. This serves the local area with water. This is associated with 'the hut' which is a building containing the equipment that Thames Water uses to control the reservoir.

There is also a cafe at the top of the hill in the same area.

There have been plans to build roads through Oxleas leading to a Thames Gateway Bridge over the River Thames as part of the Thames Gateway redevelopment plans. These plans were abandoned in 1993 after strong local protests. The proposal for the Thames Gateway bridge have recently been revived and there is concern that, if built, this would lead to pressure to link it to the A2, crossing Oxleas.

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Coordinates: 51.467° N 0.066° E

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