Mouse over links for pictures; click for detail page.
Highams Park is pollard woodland of oak and hornbeam that was landscaped by Humphrey Repton in the 1790s. The River Ching flows into it from the north to feed one of the largest lakes in the Forest, which supports many species of dragonfly. It has carpets of bluebells in spring, along with red campion, wood anemone and periwinkle.
The woodland to the south has some large oaks, hornbeam coppice and some planted conifers. The small ponds in the open grassland in the south-east corner are rich in wildlife, including great crested newts.
Visiting
The bulk of the Forest lies south-west of the junction between the M25 and M11 motorways, with Epping New Road (A104/B1393) cutting it in two running roughly south to north.
Leave the M25 at junction 26 and head east along the A121 towards Loughton. This brings you to the Wake Arms roundabout where the A121 meets Epping New Road and the road to Theydon Bois (B172).
The Wake Road turns off the A121 on the right just before the roundabout and leads to the Conservation Centre.
For the Lower Forest head north along the B1393 through Epping and turn right on to the Ongar road (B181). There is a parking area on The Woodyard, a turning on the right.
Chingford station (BR Liverpool St) is a short walk from Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge. The central parts of the Forest are a longer walk from Loughton or Theydon Bois underground stations on the Central Line. Useful regular bus routes: Essex route 240/250 from Waltham Cross to Debden via Wake Arms; London route 167 from Ilford to Debden via Chigwell; London route 20 from Walthamstow to Debden via Woodford Green.
Accessible at all times.
.jpg)