Black Park is a Country Park in Wexham

Wexham

Wexham is a settlement and civil parish in the county of Buckinghamshire. It is on the borders of the unitary authority of Slough and the non-metropolitan county of Berkshire, in southern England....

, Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 to the north of the A412 road

A412 road

The A412 is a road in England that links Slough and Watford. It was previously the main artery for this corridor, prior to the construction of the M25. It provides interchange to the A40/M40 at the Denham Roundabout, the M25 in Maple Cross and the A41 north of Watford...

 between Slough

Slough

Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...

 and Iver Heath. It is managed by Buckinghamshire County Council. Covering 530 acres (214 ha) of woodland, heathland and grassland, some areas of which are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

, the park includes an avenue of mature pine trees, an orienteering

Orienteering

Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...

 course, a lake (dug in the 18th century as a reservoir for a local farmer) with a lakeside cafe. Some 165 acres (65 ha) were designated a Local Nature Reserve

Local Nature Reserve

Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...

 in 1992. The Country Parks team also manages with wildlife in mind, as the mixed woodland and grassland provides good numbers of bats, woodland birds and invertebrates. Dartford Warblers were known to be breeding here pre-2010 and other notable species on site include starfruit and hobbys.

Filming Location

Black Park is adjacent to Pinewood Film Studios and has been used as an outdoor location for many film and television productions. The woods and lake featured prominently in the Hammer Horror

Hammer Film Productions

Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...

 films from the late 1950s to the 1970s, such as Dracula: Prince of Darkness

Dracula: Prince of Darkness

Dracula: Prince of Darkness is a 1966 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Studios. The film was photographed in Techniscope by Michael Reed, designed by Bernard Robinson and scored by James Bernard.-Plot:...

 (1966). In these films the location was often used to represent Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

. The park has also been used in film productions such as the James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 film Goldfinger

Goldfinger (film)

Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...

, where it was used for a night car chase

Car chase

A car chase is the vehicular pursuit of a suspect by law enforcement officers. Car chases are often captured on film and broadcast due to the availability of video footage recorded by police cars and police and media helicopters participating in the chase...

 scene (actually set in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and featuring Bond's Aston Martin DB5

Aston Martin DB5

The Aston Martin DB5 is a luxury grand tourer that was made by Aston Martin. Released in 1963, it was an evolution of the final series of DB4. The DB series was named honouring David Brown ....

), and the 2006 version of Casino Royale

Casino Royale (2006 film)

Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...

, plus several Carry On

Carry On films

The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....

 films, Wombling Free

Wombling Free

Wombling Free was a 1977 film adaption of the children's television series The Wombles.-Humans:*David Tomlinson: Roland Frogmorton*Frances de la Tour: Julia Frogmorton*Bonnie Langford: Felicity 'Kim' Frogmorton*Bernard Spear: Arnold Takahashi...

, Batman

Batman (1989 film)

Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...

, Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow (film)

Sleepy Hollow is a 1999 American period horror film directed by Tim Burton. It is a film adaptation loosely inspired by the 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving and stars Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Marc Pickering, Michael Gambon, Jeffrey Jones,...

, the Harry Potter film series', Captain America

Captain America

Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...

, Robin Hood

Robin Hood

Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....

, Eden Lake

Eden Lake

Eden Lake is a 2008 British horror film, written and directed by James Watkins and starring Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender and Jack O'Connell.-Plot synopsis:...

, and the Monty Python

Monty Python

Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...

 film And Now For Something Completely Different

And Now For Something Completely Different

And Now for Something Completely Different is a film spin-off from the television comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus featuring favorite sketches from the first two seasons. The title was used as a catchphrase in the television show....

.

Recreation and sports

Black Park is popular with walkers and dog owners due to the wide open spaces and well maintained routes.
During summer 2010 a 'Go-Ape' activity centre was established in the park with the construction of climbing rigging and zip lines between the trees. The area is properly supervised by park staff during opening hours. The Go Ape team now offers cycle hire as well. Being one of the flattest areas in the region enhances the park's popularity with cyclists and runners alike.

Runners are commonplace within the park and the increase in private persons using the park for exercise/training has led to the establishment of a 'Park Run' event on Saturday mornings. The professionally organised events are free to enter and form part of a network of nationwide park runs.

Mountain biking is popular in the park as the combination of dense woodland open plains,technical sections and narrow but quick draining trails make for exciting riding. Beyond Black Park XC10 is an annual event organised in conjunction with Black Park staff by West Drayton Mountain Bike Club and Beyond Mountain Bikes of Surrey. The event attracts riders of all ages and skill levels.

The lake is open for fishing during the normal rod licence season, though pre-baiting, keep nets and night fishing are all forbidden.