Session Information

Nature Play® is… child-led play, for all ages, every week, all weather, all seasons and it’s free

Click here to find out more about Free We Grow Nature Play!

Where: Sydenham Hill Wood, London SE22

For more information on Sydenham Hill Wood click here.

When: Every Friday, 10am

With all things child-led, the session ends when it feels right to head home, individuals and smaller groups leave when they are ready, and in the past we have stayed in the woods until 4pm in the summer time. It depends on everyone’s energy levels, weather, mood and if you brought your lunch with you that day.

Limited Numbers: Each session has a limited number of spaces, just 10 adults and their children. If you are bringing a child 5 yrs or over please let the host you are booking your place with know.

To secure your place go to the facebook group, where every Wednesday an ‘event’ goes up. When the ‘event’ has 10 people attending the session is full.

Meeting Point: We meet on the steps leading to the bridge, at the bottom of Cox’s Walk – use the Map Pin to find the spot. Note that there are several ways to get to this bridge from the road and each path requires a bit of a walk.

What to Bring: A small snack and water for re- fuelling, a packed lunch if you wish to stay longer at morning session, hand sanitiser or hand-washing equipment, a picnic blanket, and wet weather gear if it’s raining.

What to Leave: Sydenham Hill Wood is a Nature Reserve, so we LEAVE NO TRACE. Make sure you take your rubbish – including anything organic/biodegradable as it changes the woodland floor soil pH. Please also ensure that logs which have been upturned during play are returned to their original position, this is to protect micro habitats, minimise disturbance and maintain the clear paths, often marked using logs.

What to Expect: The lovely people at London Wildlife Trust have given us a flat clearing area off the beaten track in this Nature Reserve. The path there is a walking path, there are some steps and a gate involved to get there – pushchairs should be replaced with slings or shoulder rides. There is a fair distance of walking involved which ever way you choose to come into the woods, please plan your route carefully keeping in mind what your little ones are capable of.

Responsibility: We encourage an atmosphere of free play for the children. However, you will be responsible for your own child/ren, yourself and your belongings. For safety reasons, you are welcome at Nature Play only when accompanied by a child (unless two adults attend for the same child) and when no more than three children are in the care of a single adult.

Toilets: There are no toilet or nappy changing facilities near by. There are leafy private areas where you can find a ‘tree to water’ if needs be.

Travel Information

Bus: P4, P13, 176, 185, 197, 356, 363

Train:
Forest Hill Station + 5min bus ride (176, 185, 197)

East Dulwich Station + 15min bus ride (176, 185)

Parking: There is plenty of free roadside parking on the south side of the wood; Crescent Wood Road, Sydenham Hill and Grange Lane.

The closest parking to meeting point is on Sydenham Hill, near to the Castelbar Care Home (map pin for parking).

Live Information on Facebook:

For weather updates the day before, what happened on the day, photos and important local information, please join us on our facebook group.

Please read the Nature Play Guidelines before you arrive!

Free We Grow Nature Play Guidelines

Please get in touch with the hosts via the Free We Grow Nature Play Facebook group or email natureplay@freewegrow.co.uk for any queries at all.