Wilderness Island

Wilderness Island is the 2.7 hectare island between the Wandle and Wrythe in Carshalton in the London Borough of Sutton. It is designated a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, is owned by Sutton Council and is managed by the London Wildlife Trust.

Features

A fish pond still remains from a former public garden on the site.^[1] Other habitats are woodland, meadows and river. Trees include a black poplar, and there are birds such as the woodpecker, kingfisher and grebe. Butterflies/moths include the speckled wood, holly blue, and the rare hornet clearwing moth. The ponds are an important habitat which have a variety of wetland plants.^[2]^[3]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wilderness Island.

History

Extract from Kitchen's Map of the country 30 miles around London, 1773; its symbol denotes water mill per the legend below; the description of the site given is Copper Mills.

The island from the seventeenth century was the site of copper mills. It was later the site of a pleasure garden.

References

^ "Wilderness Island". London Parks and Gardens Trust. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
^ "Wilderness Island". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
^ "Wilderness Island". London Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 28 March 2014.

v t e Local nature reserves in Greater London
Barking and Dagenham	Beam Valley Beam Valley (Environment Agency) Dagenham Village Churchyard Eastbrookend Country Park Mayesbrook Park South Parsloes Park Squatts Ripple Nature Reserve Scrattons Ecopark and extension The Chase - Barking
Barnet	Big Wood and Little Wood Brent Reservoir/Welsh Harp Coppett's Wood and Scrublands Glebelands Moat Mount Open Space Oak Hill Wood Rowley Green Common Scratchwood Totteridge Fields
Bexley	Crossness Danson Park Bog Garden, Welling Foots Cray Meadows Lesnes Abbey Woods
Brent	Brent Reservoir/Welsh Harp Fryent Country Park Masons Field
Bromley	High Elms Jubilee Country Park Scadbury Park
Camden	Adelaide Belsize Wood Camley Street Natural Park Westbere Copse
Croydon	Bramley Bank Foxley Wood Hutchinson's Bank Selsdon Wood South Norwood Country Park
Ealing	Blondin Park Fox Wood Grove Farm Gunnersbury Triangle Islip Manor Meadows Litten Long Wood Northolt Manor Perivale Wood
Enfield	Covert Way
Greenwich	Gilbert's Pit Maryon Park Maryon Wilson Park Oxleas/Shooters Hill Woodlands Sutcliffe Park The Tarn
Hackney	Abney Park Cemetery Springfield Park
Hammersmith and Fulham	Wormwood Scrubs
Haringey	Alexandra Park Coldfall Wood Parkland Walk Queen's Wood Railway Fields
Harrow	Bentley Priory Stanmore Common Stanmore Country Park
Havering	Bedford's Park Cranham Brickfields Cranham Marsh Ingrebourne Valley Rainham Marshes The Chase - Havering The Manor
Hillingdon	Denham Country Park Frays Valley Gutteridge Wood and Meadows (Yeading Woods) Ruislip Local Nature Reserve Ten Acre Wood Yeading Brook Meadows
Hounslow	Bedfont Lakes Country Park Chiswick Eyot Cranebank Duke's Hollow Gunnersbury Triangle Hounslow Heath Isleworth Ait Kempton Pevensey Road
Islington	Barnsbury Wood Gillespie Park Parkland Walk
Kingston upon Thames	Bonesgate Open Space Castle Hill Coombe Hill Wood Edith Gardens Elmbridge Open Space Ham Lands Hogsmill River Park Jubilee Wood Raeburn Open Space Rose Walk Southwood Open Space Tolworth Court Farm Fields The Wood and Richard Jefferies Bird Sanctuary
Lambeth	Streatham Common
Lewisham	Beckenham Place Park Brookmill Road Burnt Ash Pond Dacres Wood Downham Woodland Walk Grove Park Nature Reserve Sue Godfrey Nature Park
Merton	Bennett's Hole Cannon Hill Common Cherry Wood Cranmer Green Derwent Floodwash Fishpond Wood and Beverley Meads Lower Wandle Merton Park Green Walks Morden Park Myrna Close Oakleigh Way Pyl Brook Ravensbury Park Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Wood Wandle Meadow Nature Park
Redbridge	Hainault Lodge
Richmond upon Thames	Barnes Common Crane Park Island Ham Common Ham Lands Lonsdale Road Reservoir (Leg of Mutton Reservoir) Oak Avenue, Hampton
Southwark	Dulwich Upper Wood Lavender Pond Nunhead Cemetery One Tree Hill Sydenham Hill Wood and Fern Bank
Sutton	Anton Crescent Wetland Belmont Pastures Cuddington Meadows Devonshire Avenue Nature Area Roundshaw Downs Ruffett and Big Woods Spencer Road Wetlands Sutton Ecology Centre Grounds The Spinney, Carshalton Wandle Valley Wetland Wilderness Island
Tower Hamlets	Ackroyd Drive Greenlink Mudchute Park and Farm Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park
Waltham Forest	Ainslie Wood
Wandsworth	Battersea Park Nature Areas
Westminster	St. John's Wood Church Grounds

v t e List of London Wildlife Trust nature reserves
Barnet	Oak Hill Wood Totteridge Fields
Bexley	Braeburn Park
Bromley	Saltbox Hill The Warren West Kent Golf Course
Camden	Camley Street Natural Park
Croydon	Bramley Bank Hutchinson's Bank Riddlesdown
Ealing	Gunnersbury Triangle
Greenwich	Birdbrook
Hackney	Woodberry Wetlands
Hillingdon	Denham Lock Wood Dews Farm Sand Pits Frays Farm Meadows Gutteridge Wood and Meadows Huckerby's Meadows Ickenham Marsh Park Road Pond Ten Acre Wood and Meadows Yeading Brook Meadows
Hounslow	Gunnersbury Triangle Isleworth Ait
Lewisham	New Cross Gate Cutting
Richmond upon Thames	Crane Park Island
Southwark	Centre for Wildlife Gardening Sydenham Hill Wood
Sutton	Spencer Road Wetlands Wilderness Island

51°22′25″N 0°09′28″W / 51.3736°N 0.1578°W / 51.3736; -0.1578