Walthamstow Wetlands
Europe's largest urban wetland, free, where ten Victorian reservoirs that still supply London's water double as a vast nature reserve full of herons, cormorants and even peregrines.
FREE
The lowdown
Just past the end of the Victoria line is a wild expanse most Londoners have no idea exists. Walthamstow Wetlands is the largest urban wetland in Europe, ten reservoirs spread across more than two hundred hectares, and since 2017 it has been free and open to the public.
The clever part is that it is still a working waterworks, supplying drinking water to millions of Londoners, so the wildlife and the reservoirs share the same space. The result is an extraordinary free haven for birds, herons, cormorants, tufted ducks, kingfishers and a pair of peregrine falcons that nest on an old water tower.
At its heart the old Victorian Engine House has been turned into a free visitor centre and cafe, and the brick Coppermill Tower gives a view over the whole watery sweep. Wide paths loop between the reservoirs, flat and easy, for a free morning that feels a very long way from the city.
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