Best London Woods & Forests

Amazingly, London has over 20,000 hectares of woodland and you can find woods all over London for enjoying the big outdoors without leaving the city.

There are grand old hunting forests, ancient wild woods and lovely new plantations in which you can hike, cycle, ride horses, go on outdoor adventures with kids or just enjoy a picnic in the shade when London in the summer gets horribly hot.

And in this guide to London's best woods and forests I will share 7 of my favourite woods plus 18 others scattered across the city that you can build into fun days out in London.

The guide includes special features of each wood plus other tourist sites nearby including museums and historic houses that you can tie into your visit.

Epping Forest

Epping Forest is a huge area of old royal hunting land in east London. The forest stretches over 8 miles and you can easily spend a day exploring the woodland on foot, bike or horse back.

The forest is rich in wildlife with herds of fallow deer and large numbers of butterflies and fabulous fungi. You can get to Epping Forest on the overground from Liverpool St to Chingford or the Central line to Theydon Bois.

To plan a day out in Epping read this Epping Forest Mini Guide.

Ruislip Wood

Ruislip Wood in west London is a wonderful wood to explore with kids. The wood surrounds the Ruislip reservoir which has a small sandy beach. A narrow gauge steam train runs round the reservoir.

Ruislip wood itself is part of the old wildwood that covered England after the last ice age and is full of beautiful old oaks, beeches and hornbeams and has great climbing trees.

To get to Ruislip Wood take the Metropolitan or Piccadilly lines to Ruislip station. Then the H13 or 331 bus to the Ruislip Lido/Reservoir Road stop. You'll see a brown sign to the lido and it's just 2 minutes walk.

Petts Wood

The National Trust's Petts Wood in south London is magical for small children with groves, easy trees to climb and a stream but big enough to keep adults and older children entertained for a good half day and more in the summer when it's a wonderful place to escape the heat.  

There's some lovely secret paths that take you through dense undergrowth to hidden clearings and heathland but also bigger paths for cycling.

Petts Wood is easy to get to by public transport with direct 20 minute trains to Petts Wood station from Victoria and London Bridge and it's a 10 minute walk from the station to the wood.

For more details including hiking on the Green Chain Walk between Petts Wood and other south London woodland check out my Petts Wood mini guide.

Joydens Wood

Joydens Wood, is another fantastic south London wood, near Bexley.

Set on a hill, Joyden's Wood was once the border between Mercia and Kent and is full of Anglo-Saxon ditches and dykes which are ideal for woodland battles with stick swords and bows.

Recent history has also left its mark and there are bomb craters from WW2.

The wood is over 300 acres so big enough for a day out but can also be combined with :

• Hall Place a Tudor mansion
• Stanhill Pick Your Own Farm
• Red House NT Arts & Crafts Home
• Dartford Heath starting point for the Peasants Revolt
• St John's Jerusalem 13th Century Chapel with gardens
• Dartford Museum local museum with Roman & Anglo-Saxon finds

You can walk to Joydens Wood easily from Bexley station, a mile away. If driving it is best to park by the main entrance on Summerhouse Drive.

Oxleas Wood

Oxleas Woods in Greenwich is 70 hectares of ancient oak and beech wood on one of London's highest hills which gives great views across south London and looking north to the City.

Oxleas is a great place for kids to climb trees, build dens and play hide and seek and is next to Woodlands Farm which has sheep, hens, pigs and a shetland pony who gives rides on open days.

Oxleas Wood is also great for hikers as it is on the Green Chain Walk between :

• Thames Barrier
• Charlton House
• Charlton Lido
• Lesnes Abbey & Fossil Dig
• Eltham Palace
• Beckenham Place Swimming Lake

For more details on getting there, facilities and Green Chain Walk routes check out my Oxleas Wood Mini Guide.

Highgate Wood

Highgate Wood in north London is not big but makes up for it with prettiness - especially when the bluebells are out - and the views from Highgate hill.

The wood is 5 minutes walk from Highgate tube station and you can extend your trip in Queens Wood next door or combine it with visits to :

• Highgate Cemetery : burial place of Karl Marx, George Micheal, George Elliot and more.
• Lauderdale House : an originally Tudor house saved by William Morris which now houses exhibitions and performances.
• Kenwood House : a free gallery of Rembrandt, Vermeer and other old masters on Hampstead Heath.

Queens Wood

Queens Wood is another little north London gem ideal for both tree climbing and nature hunts as it is full of wild flowers pretty rare bugs.

It's just minutes over the road from Highgate Wood. And the handy Queens Wood Cafe is between the two so you can easily explore one in the morning and the other after lunch at the cafe.

The two woods are also walking distance from Park Road outdoor pools in Crouch End which has a 50 metre lido if you fancy a summer dip.

These 7 woods make delightful days out in London but are just a starting point. For more woodland adventures check out these 18 other woods in London ...

East London Woods

Hainault Forest

East London's second great area of forest land after Epping Forest, Hainault Forest is a 200 acre wood near Romford renowned for its birdlife. It's part of the wider Hainault Park which includes Foxburrow Farm.

Wick Woodland

A small east London wood by the River Lea Wick Woodland is just over the road from the Olympic Park.

Thames Chase

The Thames Chase Community Forest covers a range of woodlands across east London including new plantations on derelict land with a Forest Visitor Centre just outside Upminster.

Cely Woods

Part of Thames Chase Cely Woods is a mixture of wetland, meadowland and newly planted woodland where you can cycle and horse ride.

South London Woods

Lesnes Abbey Wood

A 15 minute walk from Abbey Wood station Lesnes Abbey Wood is a hidden gem of a wood - full of bluebells in spring - behind the ruins of Lesnes Abbey and includes an area where you can dig for fossils.

Sydenham & Dulwich Wood

Very close to south London's excellent Horniman Museum Sydenham & Dulwich Woods are a beautiful strip of the ancient North Wood reclaimed from the abandoned Crystal Palace railway. Read the Sydenham Wood Mini Guide to plan your visit.

High Broom Woods

Another tiny south London gem High Broom Woods is just 5 minutes walk from Bethlem Museum Of The Mind.

High Elms Wood

The largest of the woods around Charles Darwins house on the very edge of south London. Darwin obsessively walked this string of woods on the north Downs and it was the inspiration for much of his work. High Elms Wood is part of a 250 acre country park with a visitor centre and cafe and is just 2 miles from Darwin's home Down House.

Blackbush & Twenty Acre Shaw

Tiny fragments of wood near Down House Blackbush & Twenty Acre are rich in orchids.

Selsdon Wood Nature Reserve

Owned by the National Trust Selsdon Wood is a big 200 acre wood again renowned for its bluebells and birdlife in the north Downs in the borough of Croydon.

North London Woods

Whitewebbs Wood

140 acre wood in the very north of London with a mixture of woodland and stream. The Whitewebbs Transport Museum - a must for transport lovers - is on the edge of Whitewebbs Woods and lovely Forty Hall is close by.

Coldfall Wood

A small area of ancient oak woodland in Muswell Hill next to the great St Pancras & Islington Cemetery.

Pear Wood & Stanmore Park

Close to Stanmore station Pear Wood is part of Stanmore Country Park and includes one of the best views of London on a fine day.

Perivale Wood

Unusually in London Perivale Wood is a private nature reserve managed for over 100 years by the Selborne Society. They do have occasional open days for non members.

West London Woods

Osterley Park

The National Trust's amazing country estate in west London Osterley Park has beautiful woodland as well as gardens.

Crane Park

A wonderful mixture of woodland, reed bed and industrial heritage around the river Crane, Crane Park Island includes an old gunpowder mill.

Gutteridge Wood

A small wood in Hillingdon with a pretty brook known for its bluebells in spring Gutteridge Wood can be walked as part of a trail with Ickenham Marsh and Ten Acre Wood.

And there you go, a big guide to the best woods in London. Do bookmark or save for later.

And for more ideas check out my other guides to things to do in London and follow me on Pinterest.

Original images shared under Creative Commons 2.0 Ruislip Lido Dock