It is true to say that One Tree Hill is not perfect but it is, in its own way, a bit of local gem and I am always surprised how few people I come across when wandering around it.

For anyone who hasn't seen it the view across the city from near the beacon is fabulous particulary at sunset. You can often hear the Green Woodpecker yaffling away in the background which makes a change from the more raucous ring necked parakeets.

A few years ago it was overrun by dog walkers but the new regulations brought in by Southwark on limiting the numbers that can be walked by any one adult seems to have sorted that out.

Generally speaking there is very little litter and dog fouling. Certainly much less than on our local streets.

The steps up the hill on the FH side are a bit wonky and industrial but they are OK. The brambles on the other side were cut back at the end of the summer and they do not encroach the paths at present.

There are also a few home made paths through the woods which probably aren't great for the wildlife but they do allow children a bit of a run around.

You can do a circular walk up over the hill, along the path that runs parallel to Brenchley Gardens and then back over again. You can vary the walk by continuing along Brenchley Gardens and coming back throuh the cemetery and the Honor Oak Rec.

If there was a budget for improvements then the bandstand/gun base area could do with a revamp and cutting down a few more trees would open up the view without impacting on the biodiversity. Personally, I would demolish the bandstand as it is ugly and useless.

The other thing about the bandstand is that it is sometimes used for barbecues and alfresco dining. The culprits are generally harmless but it is anti-social and so if there isn't a byelaw and enforcement against it there should be.

There is also scope for widening up the accessible area by taking some of the unused space currently fenced off by the Church yard, Allotments and Cemetery. All that would be required is to move some of the fences which seem to disect the site in a somewhat arbitary manner. You wouldn't have to reduce the number of land set over to graves or allotments.

Finally, the One Tree Oak (or at least the current version) looks great inside its purpose built railings and gets better every year.