A secret garden hidden for 100 years has been opened for the first time

National Trust founder Octavia Hill and her sister Miranda personally started the appeal to save Watermeads, a National Trust nature reserve in London Road, Mitcham, which has now been opened to the public.

The 11 acre site now has new paths, bridges and a sluice, which will improve the wetlands habitat and public access next to the Tooting and Mitcham Football Club.

Watermeads. Picture: David Sell 

Spencer Road Wetlands, a nature reserve in Hackbridge owned by Sutton Council and managed by London Wildlife Trust and local volunteers, now benefits from a new boardwalk that will provide safe access for school groups and visitors.

Once used for growing watercress, the nature reserve is now home to a rich array of wildlife species, including reed warbler, kestrel and kingfisher.

New and improved: Poulter Park, Mitcham. Picture: Peter Wilkinson

The Wandle Trail has also seen considerable improvements including the creation of a shared-use path for walkers and cyclists, providing easier access and enjoyment of the Wandle and the wildlife that thrives along the river.

On Thursday, May 14, ribbons were cut at the two nature reserves, Watermeads and Spencer Road Wetlands, and the new Wandle Trail was unveiled.

Other work has improved pathways and habitats for people and wildlife, particularly in Poulter Park at the heart of the Wandle Valley Regional Park, managed by Sutton Council.

Sue Morgan, chief executive of the Wandle Valley Regional Park Trust said: "This has been an ambitious project which has brought together a number of stakeholders and partners, working collectively, to help create a regional park in the Wandle Valley.

"The project has achieved restoration, new development and better accessibility to the River Wandle, giving benefit to the local community and an opportunity to get closer to nature and improve the environment for future generations."

Watermeads was a trout stream and in the middle ages it would have provided winter fodder and rich summer pasture for grazing animals.

Later in the 19th century there were four mills along its stretch and between the wars, in the 20th century, the area was planted with cricket bat willows.

Watermeads Nature Reserve was given to the National Trust in 1913 by the River Wandle Open Spaces Committee, which was launched by Octavia Hill, social reformer and founding member of the National Trust.

An inscribed sandstone bench installed in 1910 in memory of Octavia’s sister Miranda, a local teacher, can be found overlooking the river.