Waltham Abbey Gardens

Waltham Abbey Gardens offer relaxing surroundings rich in history. It’s the reputed burial site of King Harold, after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Some of the remains visible today, including the cloister entry, Abbey gateway, precinct and chapter house walls, and the stone bridge over the Cornmill Stream, give an indication to what was once one of the largest Augustinian Abbeys in the country.

 

Information panels around the site tell you more about the surviving architecture and the tranquil rose gardens and orchard offer a peaceful retreat. A walkway links from the gardens to the Cornmill Meadows Dragonfly Sanctuary. Laced with pools, ditches and ponds on one side of the river and a matured tree nursery on the other, the site supports over half of Britain’s native species of dragonfly, a waymarked trail leads you around the site. The waterbodies also attract large numbers of birds which can be viewed from the Wake Hide. The Greenwich Meridian Line runs through the site, watch out for the markers as you explore.

 

Adjacent to the site is the historic market town where you’ll find shops, places to eat and public toilets as well as the church which dates back to the 12th century.

Opening Times