Pond dipping at Camley Street Natural Park
Camley Street aerial credit Mathew Frith
Snake's head fritillary at Camley Street credit Joe Richomme
Camley Street Natural Park
Location
Know before you go
Grazing animals
NoAccess
The entrance, area around the new visitor centre at the northern end of the nature reserve and main path down to the pond dipping platorm will have accessible surfaces, whilst other footpaths around the site are surfaced in woodchip. The visitor centre will be fully accessible and will include an accessible toilet. Two changing places toilets are located within a short distance from the nature reserve at: Camden Leisure, 5 St Pancras Square and King's Cross Station.
Steep steps with handrails at the southern end of the site lead to the viewpoint on the canal.
No visitor parking available but drop-offs can be made by arrangement. Camley Street has double yellow lines on both sides.
Dogs
Facilities
When to visit
Opening times
Camley Street Natural Park is currently closed to the public in order to prepare for the construction of a new visitor and learning centre. The reserve is then due to reopen fully in 2020.Best time to visit
April to AugustAbout the reserve
The old visitor centre and adjoining buildings were demolished in autumn 2018. Construction of the new visitor and learning centre is due to commence by April 2019.
During the construction period, much-needed habitat enhancement works will also take place, including desilting the ponds, enhancing the wildflower meadow and improving the wetland and reedbed areas. We will also improve access to the nature reserve. We aim to improve Camley Street Natural Park as a whole, for both wildlife and people.
Our staff and volunteers will carry out activities throughout this period of construction, contributing reserve management and habitat enhancement work. There will be opportunities to see the progress on site through 'behind the scenes' tours and guided walks when the construction schedule allows us to do so safely.
For more information on the improvements being made, please see our press release London Wildlife Trust awarded £1million to transform the wild heart of King’s Cross.
Camley Street Natural Park is a unique urban nature reserve, surrounded by significant new development in a bustling part of central London - between King's Cross and St Pancras. The woodland, grassland and wetland habitats including ponds, reedbed and marshy areas, provide a rich habitat for birds, butterflies, amphibians and plant life, while a visitor centre caters for the thousands who visit annually. The reserve provides additional habitat along Regent’s Canal, with enhancements being made to soften the canal banks through installation of wildlife islands and marginal aquatic plants to provide habitat for birds, fish, and aquatic invertebrates.
History of Camley Street Natural Park
The site was once a coal drop for the railways into nearby King’s Cross Railway Station, which was demolished in the 1960s. It had been colonised by nature so the Trust ran a campaign to save the site from development and instead create a nature reserve; Camley Street Natural Park opening in 1985. Management of Camley Street Natural Park As visitor numbers increase care is taken to protect the reserve’s wild spaces and ensure nature is allowed to thrive through careful management of paths and habitats from trampling and disturbance.
Status of Camley Street Natural Park
Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, Local Nature Reserve
Volunteer with Camley Street's team
Despite the site closure, practical conservation still continues to be carried out by staff. The team runs volunteering days on Thursdays and Fridays, and induction sessions once a month. Contact Karolina Leszczynska-Gogol for more information: klgogol@wildlondon.org.uk or 020 3897 6150.