Visit Waltham Abbey

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Visit Waltham Abbey

A page dedicated to promoting the beautiful and historic town of Waltham Abbey, Essex. Welcome to Visit Waltham Abbey. Waltham Abbey is King Harold’s Town.

Waltham Abbey is an Essex Market Town, with a rich history and heritage, set in picturesque countryside. It is situated on the borders of Essex, Hertfordshire and Greater London, and is a Charter Market Town holding markets on Tuesday and Saturday. It boasts excellent sporting and leisure facilities, including the Olympic White Water Centre which sits just on the edge of the town. There are a numb

er of highly-praised visitor attractions in the area, which we feature on this page. Probably the most important is the magnificent Abbey, which has its roots in the monastic house founded by King Harold II in 1060. Harold was Lord of the Manor of Waltham, and was reputedly brought back to the Church for burial after his death at the Battle of Senlac Hill in 1066.

12/07/2026

Some exciting news about Historic Waltham Abbey Tours! On Saturday 18th July the first of our new tours will be taking place.
It will start at 11am from the Epping Forest District Museum in Sun Street, EN9 1EL. It can be booked in advance or just turn up on the day. Those taking the tour will gather in the Tudor Gallery where there will be some historical artefacts that you can handle and read about their history.
Then the tour will set off and visit the many heritage sites in the town centre, with the walk taking about an hour and a half. It will end at The Sun Inn in Sun Street, which is the oldest documented pub in Waltham Abbey, being recorded as a tavern in 1633, where free tea or coffee will be served to those on the tour. While enjoying the beverage, you can look at some amazing old photos of The Sun Inn and of other parts of the town and read about the pub’s timeline.
I shall be leading this first of the new tours and, to celebrate, each family taking part will receive a free copy of the excellent booklet “A Walk Round Waltham Abbey”.

28/06/2026

If you haven't yet walked the Waltham Abbey Art Trail, then you only have two more days to do so. The Trail will close at the end of Tuesday 30th June. It's well worth seeing. There is some stunning art work of many kinds from our talented local artists. And you get to vote for your favourites.
Collect a Trail Guide from EFD Museum in Sun Street, Waltham Carpets in Sun Street or the Tourist Information Centre in Highbridge Street.
These photos are just a taste of what you can see when you walk the Trail.

01/06/2026

We had a great launch day for the 2026 Art Trail on Saturday. The opening took place in the beautiful garden of the EFD Museum in Sun Street, where we did manage to find a little bit of shade.
We were delighted to welcome both Waltham Abbey's Mayor, Cllr Andrew Crowley, and Deputy Mayor, Cllr Jeane Lea. In his speech, the Mayor commented on the huge number of greatly talented artists in the area, before declaring the Art Trail open.
Then we took to the Trail and managed to visit almost all of the venues - shops, offices, cafes, pubs - hosting pieces of art. And what a display it is; each year the standard of work seems to get even better, and there are some amazing entries.
There are paintings, drawings, digital illustrations, lino cuts, ceramics, paper sculpture, needlework and photographs.
The photography exhibition has some wonderful shots covering a wide variety of subjects, and they are all together at Kings Group Estate Agents.
Then in Waltham Abbey Library you can see the Young People's Art Exhibition with work by three age groups, ranging from 7 to 16.
It was hot and exhausting work visiting all those places on Saturday meaning we had to have a couple of refreshment stops. Many thanks to Andrew and Jeane for staying with us, and to all the others who walked the Trail on Saturday.
Photo: Mayor Andrew declares the Art Trail open (photo courtesy of Nicola Nokes)

31/05/2026

Here's something that might be of interest to those who are King Harold supporters. Our wonderful museum at Waltham Abbey is hosting an Illuminated manuscript course on 22nd August, and the subject will be The Last Saxon King.

01/05/2026

This is a press report about the Holy Cross Day event some years ago. We can't promise a film show this year, but it will still be a great day tomorrow.

Address

Waltham Abbey
EN91DE

Website

http://discoverwalthamabbey.co.uk/

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