The Paddock — Attraction in Beaconsfield and Chepping Wye Community Board

A new or regenerating reserve for north East London, it is clearly a labour of volunteers and love, all the better for it and thank goodness London has people like those who are building this site into a new urban refuge for nature (and humans). You can see it is being crafted with a real care for nature and biodiversity.

And then there's this fantastic emerging piece of utterly human engineering at the back. A new bridge to nextdoor Hale is being built. And it's a shock but reassuring to suddenly be confronted with some good old reinforced steel joists and perfectly geometrically straight lines and 90 degree angles. Oddly it really complements this most rough and unpolished of London...

Something of a hidden gem—because the entrance (next to a big London Transport airshaft) looks so grim from the outside, unless you go in there's no way of knowing what's inside. It's not so much a park, more a woodland with a long grass path snaking through it (although there is a little open space with some picnic tables and enough space for kids to run about). Because it's so well hidden, on most days you'll have the place to yourself. If you come at sunrise or sunset, you'll likely see flocks of bats coming in and out of the trees.

Be aware that aside from the picnic tables and a few benches and dustbins, there are no facilities of any kind, so no toilets,...

The Paddock has a small amount of charm, it's rarely visited and has some interesting animal events around dusk: Wild cats chasing squirrels, flocks of green parrots and there's usually a territorial Robin who hangs out with you. It's also been a place for swarthy gentlemen so a dumping ground for rubbish and a frequent spot for fires and alcoholism so there are always patches of smashed glass, cans and nails around.

However the brilliant community group, Friends of the Paddock have been tidying up and with a little recent help from Haringey, The Paddock is quickly transforming into an interesting and pleasant area it...