Epping Forest

The Epping Forest is a forested area in the Epping Forest District, north of London. The forest reaches from Woodford and Wanstead to Epping. It is 18 kilometers long, but nowhere wider than four kilometers and countless roads, several motorways (M11, M25) and highways intersected.

History

The oldest finds from the forest to go back to the Mesolithic and come from High Beach.

In the peat bog of Lodge Road, a Neolithic boardwalk is suspected. The forest also contains two Iron Age fortifications, Ambresbury Banks south of Epping and Loughton Camp northwest of Loughton. According to a theory fought Queen Boudicca in 61 AD Ambresbury Banks against the Romans. Here there was also a hideout of the notorious street robber Dick Turpin. In Wanstead Park is a Roman villa rustica.

In the times of the Tudors here hunted King Henry VIII and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I. Since at least the 14th century was made ​​in the woods charcoal, which lasted until the beginning of the 20th century and was taken up again during the Second World War. The Epping Forest Act of 1878 mandated the City of London to get the Epping Forest as a natural area.

Vegetation

After the last ice age from about 8000 BC incurred, the landscape of old deciduous forests and heath is characterized, but not very suitable for agriculture.

The forest consists mainly of deciduous trees, to Roman times mostly from Linden, today oaks with holly, beech and chestnut. The wood is very light and has rich undergrowth.

Attractions

• Queen Elizabeth 's Hunting Lodge, Chingford
• Visitor Centre, High Beach