Ingrebourne Nature Discovery Centre

Ingrebourne visitor centre

Photo: Daniel Bridge

Ingrebourne visitor centre
Ingrebourne Valley marshes

Please Note: All Essex Wildlife Trust Centres will be closed on Tuesday 28 November for stock taking

Essex Wildlife Trust's Ingrebourne Valley Nature Discovery Centre is a partnership project between Essex Wildlife Trust and Havering Council. Built in Hornchurch Country Park, the centre overlooks the fantastic marshland and reedbeds of the River Ingrebourne Valley.

Location

Ingrebourne Valley Nature Discovery Centre, Hornchurch Country Park, Squadrons Approach
Hornchurch
RM12 6DF (Sat Nav RM12 6TS)
A static map of Ingrebourne Nature Discovery Centre

Know before you go

Size
261 hectares
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Parking information

Large on site car park

Bicycle parking

Available

Grazing animals

Occasional cows

Walking trails

The Ingrebourne Valley Greenway - a 4km hardened pathway suitable for bicycles, pushchairs and wheelchairs running through the site from Hornchurch Stadium, north of Hacton Lane, to Albyns Farm in Hornchurch Country Park. There are also a number of informal pathways throughout the site.

Access

Various routes around the reserve.

Dogs

Dogs permitted

Dogs are not permitted in the Nature Discovery Centre

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Facilities

Visitor centre
Toilets
Shop
Cafe/refreshments
Picnic area
Accessible toilet
Baby changing facilities
Outdoor play area
Wifi

When to visit

Opening times

Ingrebourne Valley Nature Discovery Centre is open 7 days a week.

Winter opening hours:
10am – 4pm, 1 November – 10 February.

Summer opening hours:
10am – 5pm, 11 February – 31 October.

Christmas opening hours:
Christmas Eve 10am – 2pm, Closed Christmas Day & Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve 10am – 2pm.

Best time to visit

January to December

About the reserve

The Nature Discovery Centre opened to the public in October 2015 and provides much-needed community facilities and education opportunities to Hornchurch Country Park – a well used and much loved open space, of great importance to people and wildlife.

The centre offers a shop, café, toilets, education/community room, displays and a wide range of events to engage the whole community with the fascinating wildlife and heritage of the park and the surrounding Ingrebourne Valley landscape.

Hornchurch Country Park is owned and managed by Havering Council and comprises of 97 hectares of green open space, of great wildlife importance and hugely valued by the local community, who use it for walking, running, cycling, dog walking, playing, family visits and much more.

The park is used by approximately 150,000 visitors a year. The children’s’ play area includes a model Spitfire and a variety of play equipment for a range of ages and abilities.

The park also offers an outdoor gym and ‘trim-trail’ which extends throughout the park. Hornchurch Country Park is the former site of Sutton’s Farm airfield, from which biplanes of the Royal Flying Corps took off to defend London in World War One; Lieutenant Leefe-Robinson took off from RAF Hornchurch on the night he brought down the first Zeppelin that was terrorising London, for which he received the Victoria Cross. The airfield later became RAF Hornchurch; fighter squadrons from Hornchurch were prominent in the Battle of Britain and the Battle of France and it became the most renowned Spitfire station in Fighter Command. The Spitfire squadrons based here were flown by many famous airmen, including Stanford Tuck and ‘Sailor’ Malan. Various artefacts and relics of the site’s RAF history, such as pill boxes, Tett turrets and a Spitfire dispersal point are still visible within the park.

The Ingrebourne Valley, in which the Hornchurch Country Park sits, comprises of 261 hectares of interconnecting habitats, including river, open water, marsh, grassland, reed bed, ancient and secondary woodland, scrub and hedgerows and is home to London’s largest remaining continuous freshwater reed bed, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Local Nature Reserve.

The site is not only unique but incredibly important for the 61 species of birds that regularly breed in the area, including Redshank, Lapwing and Pochard, in addition to 16 nationally scarce beetle species, dragonflies, crickets and other insects. The Ingrebourne Valley is a true haven for wildlife. Visitors may also get the chance to enjoy the wonderful but all-too-rare ‘plop’ as a Water Vole enters the water or the flash of blue as a Kingfisher dashes downstream.

Contact us

Environmental designation

Country Park
Local Nature Reserve (LNR)
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
Redshank

Tom Marshall

How to find us

The main entrance and car park to the park is on Squadrons Approach (RM12 6TS) from Suttons Lane with an additional car park and entrance of South End Road (RM13 7YD). The park is accessible by following the Ingrebourne Way foot and cycle path along the river at Hornchurch Stadium and other access points along the river course including Gaynes and Hacton Parkways, Berwick Glades, Berwick Woods, and Ingrebourne Hill.

Hornchurch Country Park is served by several bus routes, including the 256 which passes Hornchurch underground station (District Line) and terminates at St George's Hospital on Suttons Lane - a short walk away from the park's main car park at Squadrons Approach. Route 252 towards Hornchurch town centre also stops here, or you can access the park using the 165, 365 or 372 which stop on South End Road. From here it's just a short walk back to the Albyns Farm entrance to the park.

Funders

Funding for the £1.4 million Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre project has been provided by Veolia North Thames Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund, City Bridge Trust and UK Power Networks. Essex Wildlife Trust also led a successful fundraising appeal to Trust members and the public, to complete the required funds.

Constructors, Coleman & James, started setting up on site in October 2014 and there was a ground-breaking ceremony held for our funders later that month. The Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre has been designed by Tim Ronalds Architects. 

shop - ingrebourne

Shop

The Visitor Centre has a well stocked shop, including binoculars, scopes, wildlife books, charts, bird feeders & boxes, gifts & greetings cards, jams and packaged treats, children’s toys, books and local military history DVD’s, books and gifts. Open daily from 9.00am – 4.00pm.

We also have a Memory Booth located in the shop  to view local military artefacts and memorabilia.