The Environment Agency has confirmed the presence of blue-green algae in Connaught Water. This is often fatal to dogs, so please keep your dog on a lead and out of the water while in this area.

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Forest Focus

Forest Focus is our free quarterly newsletter. It's full of the latest stories, features, news and events in Epping Forest.

You can now read Forest Focus online for free on Issuu

• Winter 2018
• Autumn 2018
• Summer 2018
• Spring 2018

You can also pick up a printed copy at one of our visitor centres.

Subscribe

Sign up for our Forest Focus e-newsletter to receive Forest Focus by email each season.

Epping Forest remembers the fallen

Epping Forest has welcomed six life-sized aluminium silhouettes of British soldiers to commemorate the heroes of World War One. Find out more about the Tommies, where to find them, and our accompanying exhibition in our press release. 

Plans for Wanstead Flats festival postponed

Plans for a 3-day music concert on Wanstead Flats, originally proposed for 2019 have been postponed until 2020 to allow further time for planning and approval of the event. The organisers are now proposing an event for September 2020 which would take place over one weekend.

The revised date provides more time for concerns that have been raised to be addressed and for further consultation to take place.  Therefore, the organiser’s proposal will not be presented to the Epping Forest and Commons Committee at its meeting of 19 November 2018 as previously advised and will now be considered by the Epping Forest and Commons Committee during 2019.

Low water levels in Wanstead Park

Water levels in Wanstead Park continue to be an ongoing concern. Substantial works undertaken in 2017 helped these problems significantly, but the summer heat this year has exacerbated the issue again. We're hopeful that conditions at the ponds begin to will improve now that temperatures are returning to normal, and plans are being developed to address these issues more fully in the longer term.

For a full update on this issue, see our water levels update, written in August 2018.

Transport for London works at Bury Road

Thank you for your patience whilst a TfL compound is situated at the Bury Road overflow car park. The compound will be in place until early Spring. This will allow TfL to carry out essential improvements to the train line from Chingford to Liverpool Street, bringing benefits to the local area and for visitors to Epping Forest.

Forest works and maintenance

You may want to plan your visit to Epping Forest around any maintenance work we're conducting. Typical tasks include clearing, grass cutting and bridleway or path maintenance.

Week commencing Monday 3 December

• Forest wide: tree safety work, grass cutting, tree defect works, highway verge cutting, cut grass collection
• Baldwins Pond: reservoir maintenance works
• Bury Road: contractor compound in place
• Bury Wood: woodpasture restoration
• Claypit Hill car park: closed until further notice
• Connaught Water: reservoir maintenance works
• Deershelter Plain: woodpasture restoration
• High Beach Visitor Centre: herbicide spraying
• Hill Wood: woodpasture restoration
• Jubilee Yard: brickwork maintenance
• Lower Roding: river defence surveying
• Pillow Mounds: woodpasture restoration
• Railway Field: closed to public access
• The View: event preparation
• Walthamstow Forest: woodpasture restoration
• Wanstead Park: survey works at the Grotto
• The Warren: herbicide spraying

Upcoming volunteer tasks

• Thursday 6 December: birch coppicing at Hangboy Slade with the Epping Forest Heritage Trust
• Friday 7 December: birch removal at Rushey Plain with the Epping Forest Heritage Trust

Note: Some other works may be reactive in nature, and not scheduled. We apologise for any inconvenience these works may cause. For further information, please contact us.

Cattle grazing

Our cows are tucked up for winter now, but will be back on the Forest in Spring. In the meantime, find out more about our grazing programme on our cattle grazing page.