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Upminster Windmill

Upminster Bridge · 9.3 miles

A smock mill of considerable age stands on the edge of Upminster Bridge, its four-storey tower and single-storey brick base dominating the local skyline. Designated a Grade II* listed building, the windmill was erected in 1803 for James Nokes of Hunt’s Farm and originally drove three pairs of millstones with four common sails. Over the following decades steam power was introduced, the number of millstones expanded to six, and the mill passed through the hands of the Nokes and Abraham families before being acquired by the county council in the late 1930s. A 35-year lease was granted to the Upminster Windmill Preservation Trust in 2004, and a restoration programme between 2016 and 2023 returned the mill to working order and added a visitor centre. The structure comprises a 52-foot-high smock on a brick base, a boat-shaped cap with an external gallery, and a six-bladed fantail that automatically turns the cap into the wind. Four patent sails are mounted on a cast-iron windshaft, and the internal machinery drives four pairs of millstones – three of French Burr and one of Peak – by wind alone. The visitor centre, built alongside the mill during the recent restoration, is open to the public at selected times, allowing guests to view the restored sails and learn about the mill’s engineering. Access is via the surrounding footpaths; no admission fee or on-site car park is mentioned in the available information.

Pages Wood

Harold Wood · 9.9 miles

Pages Wood is a 74 hectare wood and public park in Harold Wood in the London Borough of Havering. It is the largest Forestry England site in the Thames Chase Community Forest, and 100,000 trees have been planted since it opened in 2002. It also has meadow areas, 6.5 kilometres of footpaths and 2.2 kilometres of bridlepaths.

RAF Hornchurch Heritage Centre

Havering · 11 miles

The former RAF Hornchurch sector station, now presented through the RAF Hornchurch Heritage Centre, lies in the parish of Hornchurch within the London Borough of Havering, southeast of Romford. Designated as a history museum, the centre offers insight into the airfield’s evolution from its origins as Sutton’s Farm during the First World War to its closure in 1962. Visitors can trace the development of the site from the 1915 establishment of the London Air Defence Area, when the landing ground first hosted BE2c aircraft, through its re-opening in 1928 as a key fighter station defending London and the Thames corridor. Exhibits illustrate the succession of squadrons that operated from the field, including 39 (Home Defence) Squadron, 78 Squadron and later units that took part in the Battle of Britain and the Dieppe Raid. The centre highlights the actions of pilots such as Lt William Leefe Robinson, VC, and Lt Wulstan Tempest, DSO, whose interceptions of enemy airships are commemorated in local street names. Displays also cover the airfield’s role in cross-channel operations, the deployment of barrage balloons in 1944, and its final use as a marshalling base. The heritage centre is listed on OpenStreetMap as a museum of historical type, with Havering identified as the nearest town for visitors planning their journey.

Ingrebourne Marshes SSSI

South Hornchurch · 11 miles

The largest stretch of freshwater marsh within Greater London extends along both banks of the River Ingrebourne in Hornchurch, forming a 74.8-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust, the site contains extensive reed sweet-grass, common reed swamp, wet neutral grassland and tall fen, supporting a notable range of invertebrates and breeding birds. Sixteen nationally scarce species of flies, beetles, dragonflies and crickets have been recorded, together with two Red Data Book species – the hoverfly *Anasimyia interpuncta* and the scarce emerald damselfly *Lestes dryas*. Sixty-one bird species breed regularly, including common redshank, northern lapwing and reed-warbler, while common cuckoos are known to parasitise reed-warbler and sedge-warbler nests. Havering Council has intervened by raising water levels and re-introducing grazing to maintain the wetland’s condition. Public entry is limited to the eastern strip that runs from the river to Berwick Pond Road, where the reservoir at Berwick Pond is open for fishing and can be viewed from Hornchurch Country Park. The remainder of the marshes is largely closed to visitors, although sections are observable from the park’s perimeter. Access points are provided from Hornchurch Country Park and from Berwick Pond Road; no admission charge is mentioned, and facilities are confined to the existing park infrastructure.

Dagnam Park

Harold Hill · 11 miles

Dagnam Park is a public park located in Harold Hill in the London Borough of Havering.

The Chase Local Nature Reserve

Rush Green · 12 miles

The Chase lies on the edge of Dagenham, straddling the River Rom which marks the boundary between the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and the London Borough of Havering. Most of the site falls within Barking and Dagenham, with a smaller portion in Havering, and both councils own the land. Management is carried out by the Barking & Dagenham Parks & Countryside Ranger Service, and each borough has classified its part as a Local Nature Reserve. Together with the adjoining Eastbrookend Country Park the area is recognised as a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. Formerly a gravel-extraction pit, the reserve now contains a mixture of wetland, grassland and woodland habitats. Birdlife is diverse: the River Rom supports kingfishers and a recorded total of 190 species, including skylarks, little ringed plovers and lapwings. Around three hundred green parakeets are resident, their calls becoming prominent at sunset. Mammals such as water voles, badgers and slow worms are also present, alongside great crested newts in the aquatic zones. The reserve holds six of the roughly six hundred female black poplars, Britain’s rarest native tree, and the dry acid grasslands support several uncommon plant species. Parts of the site are grazed by horses, contributing to habitat variation. Visitors can reach the wooded strip north of The Chase road via a footpath that runs from Roneo Corner, opposite Rom Valley Way, across the Havering side of the river. A second footpath follows the west bank from Dagenham Road to The Chase road. The southern, lake-rich area borders Eastbrookend Country Park and connects to Beam Valley Country Park by a footbridge over a railway line. Access is on foot; no admission charge is mentioned.