Gunpowder Park

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

Never sleeps, open 24 hours a day

A large country park situated on the Greater London and Essex borders, Gunpowder Park and Sewardstone Marsh offer scenic walks and cycling trails through 220 acres of grassland, wildflower meadows and wet woodland.

info@leevalleypark.org.uk

03000 030 610

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Facilities

What 3 Words

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How to get here

You can plan your journey to the site using Google maps – click on the site in the map to discover more.

Car parking

Gunpowder Park has a car park that is open 24/7. There is a charge for parking which helps us maintain our wonderful park. Car parking tariffs apply at all times. No overnight parking is permitted at
any time.

Car parking charges

Picnic spots

There's lots of short grass areas perfect for laying down a blanket on Sewardstone Marsh (///dent.trying.seat and ///level.wisely.pass) and Gunpowder Park (///ideas.congratulations.makes)

Walking, running and cycling routes

The paved routes around Gunpowder Park make it perfect for exploring by foot or bike. Some great routes to follow are Explosive Pedal Power and Rammey Ramble.

Every Saturday there is a parkrun! This is a great friendly group and you can find out all about it here and join their Facebook page.

Bird hides

Two bird hides can be found in the wet woodland area. In winter you are likely to see Little Grebe and Teal. The locations are ///dust.loudly.cliff and ///dart.mime.caller.

Things to do nearby

Gunpowder Park is just on the boarder of Essex and London so great for visiting a variety of places. Waltham Abbey is a short drive away with Waltham Abbey Gardens, the church and Royal Gunpowder Mills. Lee Valley White Water Centre is also close by. Heading south you'll find your way to Enfield Lock and Island and if you follow the river down you'll end up in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

If you're looking for places to eat just across the road are The Plough and The Bakers Arms pubs.

Toilets

There are toilets in the field station, located in the car park.

Things nearby

View of the Church and the open spaces at Waltham Abbey Gardens

Waltham Abbey Gardens & Cornmill Meadows

These historic gardens are packed full of stories and nature

Lee Valley White Water Centre

Watch the rapids roll as you soak up the atmosphere at this iconic venue

view of the reception at Sewardstone campsite

Lee Valley Campsite, Sewardstone

All the best of city breaks and countryside escapes come together at this campsite

Gunpowder Park was formally a munitions testing range owned by the MOD, before being transformed and landscaped into a country park in 2004.

Gunpowder Park and Sewardstone Marsh are 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 farm fields that border the parks.

By the main entrance, the large area of grassland in front of the building is maintained for games and picnicking. Adjacent to this area, lies Black Ditch which provides an invaluable habitat for Reed Warbler in the summer months and waterfowl all year round. This stretch of water then feeds into the River Lea Flood Relief Channel.

Much of the park is grassland and the different meadows are cut on rotation. They display a wide variety of colours throughout the year and are dissected by lines of Aspen and Birch trees.

In the middle of the park is Osier Marsh, where a boardwalk runs through a wet woodland abundant with ferns, lichens and willow trees. Two bird hides in this area look out over two seasonal pools. Osier is a type of willow which with other willow species, thrive in this wet environment.

The Greenwich Meridian Line runs through the land, where there is a viewpoint on a hill overlooking the park and parts of Epping Forest.

In the far southwest corner of the park are Knights Pits and Sewardstone Marsh, where grass paths wind through old gravel pits and wet woodland. A former fishing lake is here as well, which has been left undisturbed for wildlife to flourish.

Rammey Marsh

Rammey Marsh was once part of an extensive floodplain which stretched down to the River Thames. The marsh was used as pasture for summer grazing since Anglo-Saxon times. During the mid-20th century much of the marsh was given over to gravel extraction. The resulting flooded gravel pits were used for landfill which made the area higher. On completion of the A1055 road in the late 20th century, the marsh was bisected from north to south. The site was also used as landfill when the adjacent M25 was constructed in the early 1980’s.

Today the site is a managed as a nature reserve and is popular with locals.

Spring

Skylark can be seen hovering over the farm fields, and Reed Warbler can be heard singing in reeds amongst the ponds and lakes of the park. An abundance of Cowslip and Oxeye Daisy populate the meadow margins.

Summer

The wildflower meadows are in bloom and rich in colour. Common Knapweed, buttercup and Rosebay Willowherb are common around site. Pyramidal and Bee Orchids can be found on the on the slopes of the mounded areas in the middle of the park.

Bats and occasionally Barn Owl can be seen flying around at dusk. Grass Snake can be seen near or in the ditches, they're excellent swimmers.

Autumn

Goldfinches often feed on the unusually large Teasel plants that are rarely seen elsewhere in the country. Kestrels hover, and Buzzards soar over the recently cut meadows, searching for prey.

Winter

Large flocks of Teal and other waterfowl like Gadwall gather on the lakes and pools in the park. Small mammals such as Field Voles can sometimes be found scurrying through the grassland areas. Muntjac Deer can be seen all around the park, particularly in the wet woodland area.