Gunpowder Park is located at the top of Greater London just south of historic Waltham Abbey and the M25 (between junctions 25 and 26). The main entrance is on the Sewardstone Road (A112) south of the roundabout junction with the A121. There are pedestrian and cycle access points along each side of the Park.

Nearest rail stations: Waltham Cross, Enfield Lock, then walk approx 30 minutes, bus or taxi. Chingford, then bus or taxi. Traveline: 0870 608 2608 www.traveline.org.uk

Gunpowder Park is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The car park and public toilets are open every day but times may vary.

The Field Station and car park are monitored by 24hr CCTV.

Gunpowder Park, Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 3GP

Lee Valley Regional Park Information Service08456 770 600 info@leevalleypark.org.uk www.leevalleypark.org.uk

What can I see in Gunpowder Park?

The Park is an ideal place for walkers and cyclists, with a comprehensive network of surfaced paths accessible in all weathers. There is also a permissive bridleway for summer use circling the arable fields. There are public toilets, including baby changing and disabled facilities.

Black Ditch and the Park Centre

The Park Centre functions as a working

environment to accommodate a range of free

activities including exhibitions, creative

workshops and special events. The building

can be used for private meetings, opening

times vary.

The large area of grassland in front of the building

is cut short year round to provide an area for

informal games and picnicking. To the north of

the Park Centre lies Black Ditch, a favourite haunt

of water voles, Reed Warblers and dragonflies.

Two bridges along the north perimeter, Black

Ditch Central and Black Ditch West provide 24

hour pedestrian and cycle access.

Cob Fields (Shock Wave Galleries)

The northern and western areas of the Park

feature spectacular wildflower meadows that

constantly change colour through the seasons,

bursting with butterflies and flowers in summer,

while the bleached grassy tussocks ripple in the

winter winds. Bands of native trees and

shrubs dissect the meadows, mimicking

shock waves which fan out from the centre

of a dynamic landform “explosion”, near the

Park Centre, creating one of the Park’s

defining features: slashes of scarlet across the

autumn landscape.

Cob Meadow (Blast Mound Plateau)

This is a popular nesting place for skylarks;

their spiralling songs fill the air in the spring

and summer. This area used to house row upon

row of blast testing bunkers. The footprints of

these have been picked out with rectangular

plantations of willow trees, and blocks of

wildflowers sown among the grasses.

Osier Marsh (The Salix)

Osier Marsh is a wet woodland and important

wildlife refuge. Boardwalks and paths guide you

through a tangled jungle of birch and willow

carpeted with lichens and mosses. Two viewing

points over seasonal pools allow you to watch

wetland birds feeding and raising their chicks.

The wood lies wet in the winter and supports

Woodcock, wintering thrushes and large mixed

tit flocks. Long-eared Owls have roosted in the

past, and Tawny Owls and Little Owls have also

been seen. Muntjac deer are also common.

On the eastern edge of the Marsh is a new

deciduous woodland, planted with 26,000

native trees and shrubs.

Cob Field (The Energy Fields)

Features such as permanent grass margins and

conservation headlands will benefit wildlife, in

particular birds such as Grey Partridge and

Skylark. Sacrificial seed-rich crops are sown

within the farmland to provide food during the

winter for farmland birds such as Linnets,

Yellowhammers and Tree Sparrows. The

Greenwich Meridian Line runs through the

farmland. Follow the signs to the top of the hill

to enjoy stunning views over the Lee Valley

corridor and the hills of Epping Forest. For a

more rural ramble continue on the public

footpaths, down the grassy field margins by the

hedgerows between the arable fields.

In the far southwest corner of the Park are

Knights Pits and Sewardstone Marsh, where

grassy paths meander through the flooded

gravel pits, meadows and woodlands. Westway

Bridge and Cattlegate Bridge along the western

boundary provide links to Enfield Lock, Swan

and Pike Pool, and Rammey Marsh.

Lee Valley Regional ParkIf you enjoy wildlife, sport, countryside,

heritage, fantastic open spaces with great

places to stay, then the Lee Valley Regional

Park is the place for you. The Park is a regional

destination for sport and leisure and stretches

for 26 miles between Ware in Hertfordshire,

through Essex to the River Thames at East

India Dock Basin.

The Park’s unique natural features have

been shaped by a mosaic of countryside

areas, urban green spaces, heritage sites,

country parks, nature reserves and lake and

riverside trails, plus some excellent sports and

recreation centres.

There are so many places to visit in the Park

and things to do, we’re sure you’ll have a great

time whatever activity you choose. The Lee

Valley Regional Park Map highlights some of

our key sites and their locations.

A new Country Park

Gunpowder Park

Information correct at time of print

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Key

1 Rye Meads Nature Reserve & Rye House Gatehouse

2 Lee Valley Boat Centre

3 The Old Mill & Meadows

4 Lee Valley Park Farms

5 YHA Lee Valley, Cheshunt

6 Cornmill Meadows Dragonfly Sanctuary

7 Abbey Farmhouse & Gardens

8 Rammey Marsh

9 Gunpowder Park

10 Lee Valley Camping & Caravan Park, Sewardstone

11 Myddelton House Gardens

12 Lee Valley Camping & Caravan Park, Edmonton

13 Lee Valley Athletics Centre

14 Lee Valley Golf Course

15 Tottenham Marshes

16 Walthamstow Marsh Nature Reserve

Lee Valley Ice Centre

Lee Valley Riding Centre

Middlesex Filter Beds Nature Reserve

WaterWorks Nature Reserve & Golf Centre

17 Three Mills

18 Bow Creek Ecology Park

19 East India Dock Basin

Enfield Lock

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Access toSwan and Pike Pool

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Black Ditch Central Bridge

Gunpowder Park is 90 hectares of new country park for the benefit of people and wildlife.

Through a multi million pound investment by the Lee Valley Regional Park

Authority, the park land has been reclaimed and regenerated from its former

use as a Royal Ordnance munitions testing facility. After 100 years as a

closed site, the land has been transformed into a dynamic new country park.

Gunpowder Park opened to the public on 3 June 2004 in the presence of

HRH Duke of Edinburgh.

Gunpowder Park’s dynamic landscape evokes the site’s historic explosive

past and provides distinctive and accessible spaces for entertainment

and outdoor recreation.

The 90 hectares are shaped into four distinct bioregions. These include

wildflower meadows with their distinctive landforms made from

100,000m3 of new soil and 45,000 native species of trees and shrubs

British provenance. The other areas contain wet willow woodland with

seasonal pools, a new deciduous woodland plantation, and productive

agricultural land.

Park Centre An environmentally friendly, state of the art building for exhibitions, workshops, seminars and special events.

Cob Fields (Shock Waves Galleries)

14 hectares of grassland, meadow, pathways and vistas.

Cob Meadow (Blast Mound Plateau)

21 hectares of new meadow, a massive earthwork stage, with blocks of trees and wild flowers

Osier Marsh (The Salix)

27 hectares of wildlife refuge and a unique wetland with a boardwalk and birdwatching screens; protected area for contemplation, observation and interaction.

Cob Field (The Energy Fields)

28 hectares of working arable farmland managed with wildlife in mind and disected by the Greenwich Meridian Line.

FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT WHAT TO SEE AND DO AT GUNPOWDER PARK, TURN OVER…

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Car Park

Coach Park

Toilet

Disabled Toilet

Access

Bus Stop

Bench

Dog Bin

Viewpoint

Wild flower planting

Shared use path

Grass path

Permissive Summer Bridleway

National Cycle Route

Public Right of Way

Ditches

Circular walk: 45mins, with 20 mins extension

Cyclists are welcome to ride in the Park, both along the National Cycle Route and on the Park’s main pathways.

Main pathways are wheelchair accessible.

Responsible dog walkers are welcome; please use the dog bins provided.