Credit: Sophie Lillington/City of London Corporation
Credit: Sophie Lillington/City of London Corporation
museum, public realm/landscape
Freeland Rees Roberts Architects, 2012
6 Rangers Road, Chingford, E4 7QH
what3words: count.daring.events
The Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford is both a visitor centre and museum, it was created from a late 19C stable complex. Enjoy its permanent display about the Forest, temporary exhibitions and unique status as gateway to 6000 acres of Forest trails.
Chingford
397, 179, 212, 313, 379, 385, 444, 97
Parking at Epping Forest car parks at Barn Hoppitt and Chingford Plain (Bury Road). Please check boards for charges.
The building has a public lift to the exhibition space on the first floor
Visitors to the centre often comment on the delightful smells in the shop - scented candles and soap, plus local honey.
Credit: Sophie Lillington/City of London Corporation
Credit: Sophie Lillington/City of London Corporation
11:00–16:00
Drawing workshop across two sites and handling box on Epping Forest history theme
The Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford, the central visitor centre for Epping Forest, incorporates a 140-year old coach house, stable block and courtyard. The buildings are now linked with a glass two level foyer. A first-floor wooden viewing platform, accessible via a lift, provides impressive views of Epping Forest's ancient trees.
The site was developed by architects Freeland Rees Robert and completed in 2012. It forms one of a cluster of buildings on the very outskirts of London - the border with Essex is just up the road - including Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge (1543) and Butler's Retreat, an historic building offering refreshments to Forest visitors since the 19th century.
There are two temporary exhibition rooms at The View with a changing displays inspired by Epping Forest and its history. Attractive permanent displays tell the uplifting story of how Epping Forest was saved in the 1870s from destruction and urban sprawl, one of the earliest examples of a public campaign to save green space.
In our shop you can buy venison or longhorn beef (in season) from Epping Forest animals, wooden bowls turned from Epping Forest wood, local honey and a wide range of books and gifts for all ages. We also stock merchandise associated with Jill Barklem's Brambly Hedge stories that were inspired by Epping Forest. The characters in the book feature in wooden sculptures on a trail that can be followed from the centre.