Woodland Conservation Group

Friday, 18th July 2025

Hotel Field - Oxleas Wood

Returning to continue our activities in and around Hotel Field became a priority as Greenwich announced their intention to begin grass-cutting early.  This haste is due to the threat of grass fires, resulting from the extremely hot and dry weather over the last few weeks. 

We are pleased to say that the meadow is improving well and was alive with butterflies, including Large Whites and Meadow Browns.

Although not as sunny as recently, Friday was also very hot and humid too.  While a few dedicated volunteers returned to the top of the meadow, cutting back the huge clump of brambles which has encroached onto the meadow, the other twelve or so volunteers chose to tackle the same area from the shade of the top path, cutting back the large expanse of 1.5-2m tall bracken which is almost totally dominating an area where once thrived a range of woodland plants, including Lords-and-Ladies and the Cuckoo Flower/Ladies Smock.

Bracken - an ancient fern - was used historically for both animal bedding and even for stuffing mattresses in homes, as well as many other activities.  Testing it for comfort, one adventurous volunteer claimed it make a surprisingly comfortable nest. 

Our waste pile of bracken made a surprisingly comfortable nest.

However, it is no longer used in this way and as it spreads very quickly through underground roots, with large patches evident throughout the woodlands, it has become another situation for the Friends to add to their management activity plan.  As it is impossible for us to clear it as might be done on open heathland, our aim in Oxleas Woodlands is to reduce its spread and reduce the areas it already covers through weakening it; this is achieved by both pulling and cutting it back every year.

By the end of the session, despite several other volunteers joining the meadow brambling group (as it became clear the extent of overgrown bramble in the meadow) there remains a huge patch for future clearance.  However, when we tackle this will depend on both when the meadow is mowed and the development of any fruit, so it could go back onto the plan for a session either later in the year or early in the spring.

As for the bracken clearance, having gone back several metres, we were delighted to reveal cherry plum, rowan and elderflower trees which will now have room to flourish and, just as importantly, the dormant and existing wildflowers will be able to rejuvenate.

This Lords-and-Ladies plant was totally smothered by the bracken and very few other plants are growing at all.

We will continue our work to improve the diversity of plants throughout the woods and the meadows. Thanks to all our volunteers for the time and effort you contribute to this vital aim.