Eltham Common lies against the side of Shooters Hill and is partly open grassland and partly woodland. These are magical woods where you can slip into different layers of time. The trees surround and welcome you – it is a comforting place to just be. Tom Wareham has written a fascinating book about the woods on Shooters Hill – do read it.

The meadow and woods lie across the Well Hall Road from King George’s Fields and Woolwich Cemetery.

Woodland part of the common

Unlike other areas of woodland on Shooters Hill the woods here are secondary woodland. There are of course oak trees and birch trees, and then holly, bramble and some patches of gorse as undergrowth.

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Magical moments in the woods

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The reservoir

Was this the reservoir which supplied the Royal Herbert Hospital? It is on the south eastern side of the woods and is fenced off to the public.

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The common’s open grassland

The grass is left to grow but paths are cut through the grass, creating pattern. The Capital Ring Path crosses the site. If you look carefully you will see the wildflowers are flourishing and there are several varieties here in June.

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The former police station

A police station has stood on this site since at least the 1870s and it was built on the site of a gallows. Today the building is flats.

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The woods, even though they are young, are wholesome and the meadow is particularly lovely in the summer when the wildflowers are out.