Guide to beautiful woodlands and forests in London

Richmond Park is a National Nature Reserve famed for its wildlife, like herds of deer that roam freely throughout the park. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park and is considered a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It's perfect for escaping the buzz of London whilst not venturing far from the city centre. It's not only deer that call this park home; you'll also find everything from nationally scarce stag beetles and cardinal click beetles. It's a haven for entomologists - more than one-quarter of the British list of beetles has been recorded in this park alone - totalling over 1000.

Epping Forest is an ancient woodland located on the outskirts of London and can be reached by travelling all the way to one end of the central line. It's an old wood pasture, anglo-Saxon common land and hunting ground that later became a Royal Forest in the 12th Century under Henry I. It sprawls for 6,000 acres, from East London to Essex and offers essential habitat for wildlife and flora. Expect to find a variety of interesting trees, like hornbeams, glistening silver birch, burly oak and beech trees.

Railway Fields Nature Reserve is tucked away right near Green Lanes and offers a tranquil oasis to soak up nature in the city. The land was used as a railway goods yard in the '50s, but now it holds the prestigious Green Flag Award, which it's had since 2004. Spend some time wandering about and exploring all of the beautiful flora and fauna that make up the area.

Wick Woodland is a small stretch of wilderness that can be found alongside the Lea Navigation canal, between Hackney Marshes and Here East. It's a mosaic of overgrown shrubbery, older trees and younger woodland. There's also a homemade bench where you can perch and contemplate life mid-walk.

The borough of Croydon, on the city's southern edge, is home to many beautiful green spaces, including Selsdon Wood Nature Reserve. This sprawling landscape and woodland stretches 200 acres across the countryside and is classed as an Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland. It's teeming with wildlife, from bats, deer and squirrels to many bird species.

Sydenham Hill Wood is all that remains of the Great North Wood, which used to stretch from Deptford to Selhurst and South Norwood. It has a pretty Victorian folly between the trees and a tree-lined walkway renowned for having one of the prettiest forest walks in London, Cox's Walk.

This North London forest stretches for 28 hectares of ancient woodland and is a haven for wildlife and Londoners seeking a breather away from busy city life.  Expect to get up close to many old trees, mostly oaks and hornbeams, as well as a wide variety of biodiversity and wildlife, such as the longest-running moth survey in the UK, 353 fungi species and counting, more than 900 invertebrate species, and 70 bird species. There's also a café and a range of facilities, like a playground and sporting grounds, free to use.

Barnsbury Wood Nature Reserve is London's smallest local nature reserve, but that doesn't mean it skimps on the things the big hitters can provide. It's a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation and is teeming with flora and fauna, like the common toad, long-tailed tit and lesser stag beetle, to name a few.

Oak Hill Wood Nature Reserve is an ancient woodland that dates back to the Middle Ages, scattered with trees like hornbeam and oak, ash and silver-leafed maples. Some newly-planted oak trees will soon spring to life, offering a new burst of life within the reserve. The medieval woodland is also home to various bats and nationally threatened declining bird species such as the Willow Tit.