Epping Forest Tourist Information
Epping Forest is rich in places for tourists to visit, with the forest itself - covering thousands of acres - providing a wealth of wildlife and natural beauty to see, including a sanctuary for deer.
NORTH WEALD AIRFILED was a Battle of Britain fighter base and is still used by private aircraft and an annual airshow. A museum in Hurricane Way brings to life those war years.
ROYAL GUNPOWDER MILLS in Beaulieu Drive, Waltham Abbey, a former Ministry of Defence site, boasts 21 important historic buildings, speacial wildlife conservation areas and 175 acres of natural parkland.
WALTHM ABBEY CHURCH is best known for allegedly having within its boundaries the tomb of King Harold, who founded the original church in 1060 AD. Some parts of the existing building date back to the 14th century and the painted ceiling is of particular interest.
GREENSTED CHURCH, near Ongar, is believed to be the only surviving church built of wood and dates back to Saxon times. It is a tiny place, but worth the journey to see it.
OLD HOUSES worth visiting are Blake Hall in Stoney Lane, Bobbingworth, near Ongar and Copped Hall, a Georgian mansion used by various monachs and William Shakespeare, which is near Epping.
YE OLD KINGS HEAD public house in High Road, Chigwell, which was featured in a Charles Dickins novel, and, opposite Chigwell School, founded in 1619 by Samual Harsnett. The area includes many large houses, which became known through the television series Birds of a Feather. The training ground for Premier League Tottenham Hotspurs football club can be found in Luxborough Lane - opposite on of the country's top hockey clubs, Old Loughtonians.
HIGH BEECH provides views over a wide area from the highest point in the district and the alleged cave where highwayman Dick Turpin used to hide himself can be found here.
LEE VALLEY REGIONAL PARK runs through the western edge of the district, with its tourist centre at Waltham Abbey and its boating, holiday chalets, fishing spots and boat cruises based at Broxborne. The park is a huge expanse of land and water stretching from the East End to neighboring Hertfordshire.