Railway Fields is a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade I, in Harringay the London Borough of Haringey. About one hectare in area, it was a railway goods yard until 1967. The park also contains a pond which is most commonly the home of the Common frog and the

Blue-tailed damselfly The blue-tailed damselfly or common bluetail (''Ischnura elegans'') is a damselfly, belonging to the family Coenagrionidae. Subspecies and varieties Subspecies and varieties include: *''Ischnura elegans ebneri'' Schmidt, 1938 *''Ischnura eleg ...

Habitat, flora and fauna

Much of the site is wooded with open birch woodland running along part of the boundary with the railway. Denser woodland and scrub occupies much of the rest of the site. There are areas of grassland and a small pond. At the centre of the reserve, a wooden cabin provides an office and a classroom. Over 200 species of wild flowers have been recorded. This includes the unique

Haringey Knotweed The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of t ...

(×''Reyllopia conollyana'') discovered in 1987, a cross between the Japanese knotweed and the

Russian vine ''Fallopia baldschuanica'' (syn. ''Polygonum baldschuanicum'') is an Asian species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by several common names, including Russian-vine, Bukhara fleeceflower, Chinese fleecevine, mile-a-minute and silv ...

. More than sixty species of birds have been observed since Railway Fields opened.

History

The area that is now the Railway Fields nature reserve was established as a goods yard on the Tottenham and Hampstead Junction Railway in 1868. It seems likely that the main use of the goods yard was for coal. Just under 100 years later, in 1967, the yard was closed. In 1975 it was acquired by Haringey Council for a community centre for Haringey Social Services. In 1986 it was opened as a nature park and used as an educational nature reserve. In 1990 it was declared a statutory local nature reserve. The site is protected as public recreation space in perpetuity as a Fields in Trust Queen Elizabeth II field.

References

External links

Harringay online - Website for Harringay residents

Photo series by Henry Jacobs on Smug Mug

The Conservation Volunteers
Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Haringey Local nature reserves in Greater London Nature reserves in the London Borough of Haringey Harringay {{London-geo-stub