Sydenham Hill Wood

What travelers say:

This and the adjoining Dulwich Wood are the last tiny surviving portion of what was once the ancient Great North Wood. It may not be big, but it’s beautiful woodland with a couple of historic features. First, there’s the railway bridge on which the iconic artist Camille Pissarro painted his famous view towards Lordship Lane Station in 1871. The view has been completely reclaimed by nature and the railway line has disappeared, but the bridge is still there. There’s also the stone ruins of what was built as a Folly in the grounds of a house on one edge of the wood. There’s part of of what looks like a Romanesque arch, but it’s a Victorian imitation. Once again, the house has gone but some of the Folly survives. The woodland itself is an odd mix of ancient trees, recent plantings and the remnants of the gardens of the seven grand houses on the Sydenham Hill edge of the wood, which have long since been demolished. Such an atmospheric place to visit and walk round.