This locale at the edge of Epping Forest covers the northern section of the Chingford neighbourhood. The leafy nature of the area, alongside a bubbling property scene are the area’s main pull factors, with prices rising briskly in recent times. commuters will be attracted by the overground which runs to Liverpool Street station in just under a half hour. At the same time families feel the pull of the area’s amenities, restaurants and pubs, such as the Royal Oak and the Dovecote which provide a relaxing atmosphere. Weekends can be spent strolling easily through one of the locale’s many green areas, like Ridgeway Park, where a miniature railway for kids operates on Sunday afternoons in the summertime. On the east side, the River Ching flows towards Chingford Hatch, meeting it at the foot of Friday Hill. This part of the area is predominantly populated by post-war council housing. Heathcote is the local secondary school and sixth form and was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.

For centuries, the development of a sizable town in this area was constrained by the marshy terrain around the banks of the River Lea. Henry VIII once spent time roaming these lands, building hunting lodges such as the one currently known as Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge on Ranger’s Road. The area did not begin to become popular until 1873 when the railway brought with it scores of visitors from the city, keen to explore the depths of Epping Forest. As such, the area remained a public leisure destination, with a number of hotels seeing their heyday in the late 19th century. Only the interwar period and especially the building of the North Circular in 1928 saw the community begin to grow. Indeed, it was the fact that Chingford was best accessible by the relatively new automobiles that set the precedent for a more affluent prospective clientele of local properties.

At the bottom of Friday Hill, Pimp Hall Nature Reserve is one of the neighbourhoods numerous leafy pearls. It was the location of one of the area’s three manors in the 19th century and going further back, it was once host to Charles II. The story goes that the King was out hunting in Epping Forest and had to take refuge from a snowstorm in the manor. The keeper of the hall offered the royal a joint of beef which was received very well by His Majesty. Subsequently, the King bantered by drawing his sword and knighting the meat, naming it Sir Loin. The Devcote pub now stands nearby under which at one point in time it was known as The Sirloin.

Chingford attracts those wishing to take advantage of decent property prices whilst still being relatively close to the city. One cost of being on this side of the Waltham Forest borough is the lack of tube stations in the vicinity, the closest one being at Buckhurst Hill, around a 40 minute walk west. Despite this, the 179 Bus does connect the area to the Central Line at South Woodford.

Local transport links between the Overground station, high-street, nearby reservoirs, and Gilwell Park wedding venue are planned to be improved. However, the scope for new developments is limited as most of the gaps left between the council’s post-war development were filled by private developers in the latter half of the previous century. Highgrove Walk, a set of 14 semi-detached properties, may be seen as representative of the kind of suburban development which is occasionally new to the area. While proposals for larger developments do occur they are generally met with residence from locals, with one such scheme near Chingford leisure centre recently rejected.