Wanstead Oases

The sandy flats of Wanstead are pocketed with ponds and trees, perfect for a walk on a hot day.

Sunday 13th July 2025, 1pm

Bandstand pond Wanstead

On a baking hot summer’s day, the ground is hard, the grass is fawn, and the park seems as vast as a desert. But scattered across the sandy Wanstead Flats are ponds and stalwart trees, giving shade from the heat and points of connection on this summer park to park walk.

Dingo on the sun-scorched Australian plain? Or dog on Wanstead Flats? Click to view

It’s called Forest Gate but the forest is gone and what we have is the open plain of Wanstead Heath. Then crossing Aldersbrook, we find a series of ponds and basins close to the river Roding which point to substantial land works across Wanstead Park. The story of Wanstead is one of private investment and privilege, hard to sustain; while today tens of thousands of people live close by these parks and can enjoy their tranquillity.

We finish at George Green, where people tried to protect the trees and resist the M11 motorway back in 1993.

£8 ticket

Meeting place: Forest Gate station
Arrive by train: Forest Gate Elizabeth Line, or Wanstead Park Suffragette line nearby
Date & time: Sunday July 13th 2025, 1 pm
Distance: 3 miles
End point: Wanstead station (Central line)
Map: Komoot map click to view
Contact: email tim.ingram-smith@outlook.com mobile: 077932 00932
Cost: £8 per adult walker PAY HERE https://paypal.me/parktopark