museum, public realm/landscape
Freeland Rees Roberts Architects, 2012
6 Rangers Road, Chingford, E4 7QH
Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford, The View, a visitor centre and museum, was created from an early 20C stable complex. Enjoy its Forest viewing balcony, exhibitions and unique status as gateway into 6000 acres of Forest trails.
Chingford
97, 444, 385, 379, 313, 212, 179, 397
Epping Forest car parks at Barn Hoppitt and Chingford Plain (Bury Road).
Visitors to the centre often comment on the delightful smells in the shop - scented candles and soap.
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 The View's 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.