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WALK 4

Wanstead Flats and Park

Start/finish Forest Gate station (TQ 404 853) or Wanstead Park station (TQ 405 856) Distance 6 miles (10km) Time 3hrs Maps OS Explorer 174, Landranger 177 Refreshments Pubs and cafés in Forest Gate, tea hut in Wanstead Park Parking Centre Road car park, E7 0DL (TQ 405 861) Local group Friends of Wanstead Parklands www.wansteadpark.org.uk and Wren Wildlife and Conservation Group www.wrengroup.org.uk

This, the southernmost section of Epping Forest, has a fascinating human history, of which the fate of the great house at Wanstead Park is just one facet. It also boasts a remarkable biodiversity. Although part of the area is managed for football, there is also an acid grassland Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) here, plus the Forest’s southernmost woods and a complex water system in the former ornamental grounds.

The ornamental waters

Cross the road in front of Forest Gate station and walk to the railway bridge, where Wanstead Park station is situated for those arriving by Overground. Keep walking to the junction with Capel Road, where you cross over to a drinking fountain and enter Epping Forest land. Keep on along a narrow track on Wanstead Flats, not far from the main road, until Centre Road car park. This is where car drivers will start.