One Tree Hill

If tomorrow (Sunday 31 July) is another sunny day you could do worse than spend an afternoon counting butterflies with the Friends of One Tree Hill - meet by St Augustine's Church gates on Honor Oak Park at 1 pm.
While you're up there check out the oak tree at the top - not the actual Oak that gave Honor Oak its name, but a tree planted in 1905 to mark the opening of the hill to the public.


Give thanks too to the people who fought to make it a public space - seeing off a plan to turn it into a private golf course with riotous demonstrations. The plaque under the tree mentions the Enclosure of Honor Oak Hill Protest Committee which led the campaign.



The concrete platform nearby was the site of a large naval gun put on the hill in 1916 to try and shoot down zeppelin airships.


Some great views over London from the top.


(if you don't live nearby, you can get to One Tree Hill from Honor Oak Park rail station, five minutes down the road; the P12 bus stops at the bottom of the hill on Brenchley Gardens, where you can also park if you're driving)