About
Enjoy The Royal Gunpowder Mills
A chance to visit this internationally important site of history, science and nature. With exhibitions, tours and guides.
Suitable for every age with activities for all the family!
Tickets are £8 per adult and £4 per child.
Date: Saturday 14th Oct 2023
Time: 11:00 - 16:00
Location: Beaulieu Drive, Waltham Abbey, EN9 1JY
Please note: Last admission to the site is at 2:45pm. Please buy tickets before attending this event as no tickets will be sold at the gate. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own picnics as the café will just be serving tea, coffee and squash.
Buy your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/enjoy-the-royal-gunpowder-mills-tickets-717044829387?aff=oddtdtcreator
What is there to explore?
- Watch the introductory film to learn the story of Gunpowder and the site
- Check out the main exhibition full of interactive elements and games that bring the history of gunpowder and the site to life
- Don't miss the armoury, with talks on the military significance of this unique and accessible collection
- Learn the fascinating story of the women who came to work at the Mills during the First World War in the Women at War exhibit
- Take a tractor ride into the out-of-bounds areas for a guided tour of the larger site
- Visit the Rocket Vault and make sure not to miss the talks from the rocket experts
- Take the kids for a fun ride on the miniature railway
- Enjoy a scenic ride on the industrial Gunpowder Railway and make sure to look out for our herds of wild deer sheltering in the forest
- Don't miss the rocket-making workshop and launch your creation high over our fields
What is the Royal Gunpowder Mills?
The Royal Gunpowder Mills is a 170-acre heritage site in Waltham Abbey with over 300 years of making explosives, propellants, and space rocket technology! Their story is a fascinating insight into British military exploits from the Napoleonic era through to the First and Second World Wars and even scientific developments of the Cold War.
But they're not just a place of military and scientific development! They are also a site of rich social history and often visitors have family connections to the huge workforce that was employed on the site over the centuries.
Today, the site has been reclaimed by nature and is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for the rare bird, animal, tree and plant life that live on theland.
Assistance dogs are welcome and water is available. Sorry, no other dogs allowed
For more information on the Royal Gunpowder mills: https://www.royalgunpowdermills.com/
Book Tickets Online
Facilities
Accessibility
- Accessible Lift - All the publically accessible buildings on the site are ground floor accept the main exhibition building where there is an accessible lift.
- All Areas Accessible to Disabled Visitors - All the publically accessible buildings on the site are ground floor accept the main exhibition building where there is an accessible lift. As this is a heritage site, there is some uneven ground but most areas and buildings are wheel chair accessible as is the Land Train which conducts guided tours of the whole site.
- Disabled Parking
- Disabled persons toilet
- Parking Areas for Disabled Visitors
- Ramp / Level Access
- Wheelchair user accessible - All the publically accessible buildings on the site are ground floor accept the main exhibition building where there is an accessible lift. As this is a heritage site, there is some uneven ground but most areas and buildings are wheel chair accessible as is the Land Train which conducts guided tours of the whole site.
Attraction Facilities
- Groups Accepted
Catering
- Cafe
- Catering for groups
- Catering Provided
- On-Site cafe/restaurant
- Outdoor eating area
- Picnic area
- Picnic Site
Children & Infants
- Family Friendly, Children Welcome
- Outdoor children’s play area
Establishment Features
- All weather attraction - Although we hold special events which take place outdoors, our main exhibitions are under cover and the site can be visited via our covered land train or military truck experience.
- Guided tours
- Guided tours by arrangement - Visitors who have a specific interest in a particular aspect of the history or processes or items exhibited at the Royal Gunpowder Mills, can arrange to have a volunteer guide with relevant knowledge available when they visit. This is by arrangement and dependant on the relevant expertise being available.
- Marquee Space Available
- Open on bank holidays
- Special Opening for Groups by Arrangement
- Team / Corporate Activities
Parking & Transport
- Bus stop within walking distance
- Coach parking
- Free parking
- On Site Car Parking
- On site parking
- Parking (free)
- Secure cycle parking - The car park includes an open, but covered cycle parking area.
Provider Preferences
- Countryside Setting
- Forest Location - The large site includes unique Alder plantation and associated wildlife. The whole site can be visited by the Land Train or Military Truck Experience.
- In town/city centre - The site is on the outskirts of Waltham abbey, itself a historic market town.
- Indoor Attraction - The main exhibition, armoury and rocket collection, plus Professor Nitrates Mad Lab are all indoors.
- Outdoor Attraction - The Royal Gunpowder Mills is a very large unspoilt site with areas designated of special scientific interest (SSIs). The dangerous nature of gunpowder manufacture, and the later chemical explosives, made it sensible to space buildings apart. So the industrial processes can be explored within a natural environment. Trees were allowed to flourish between the buildings as they provided an additional safety barrier should an explosion occur in a building, and canals link all parts of the site.
Specialist Features
- Cyclists welcome
- Educational Groups - The Royal Gunpowder Mills has a dedicated education team and regularly delivers a range of programmes for local schools.
- Family Fun
- Marketed Towards Children - Children love Professor Nitrates Mad Lab shows.
- Marketed Towards Families
- Marketed Towards Senior Citizens
- Marketed towards student/youth
- Marketed Towards Students / Youth
Tours and Demonstrations
- Demonstrations Given
- Educational Visits Accepted - The Royal Gunpowder Mills has a dedicated education team and regularly delivers a range of programmes for local schools.
- Guided Tours Available for Groups
- Guided Tours Available for Individuals - The Royal Gunpowder Mills is lucky to have an army of knowledgeable volunteers who can answer technical (and not so technical) questions and bring the past and processes alive. Some of the volunteers are past employees. The land train tours of the site include guides who explain the history of the site, its buildings and the processes which went on there.
Map & Directions
Road Directions
The Royal Gunpowder Mills is located in Beaulieu Drive, off Highbridge Street (at traffic lights and opposite McDonalds), a ten minute walk from the centre of Waltham Abbey. The entrance is at top north end of Beaulieu Drive.
There is free parking
From J26 of M25, take A121 to Waltham Abbey; or from J25 of M25 go to Waltham Cross and then A121.
Public Transport Directions
By Bus
The site is just a 10 minute walk from Waltham Abbey Town Centre.
Nearest bus stops in Highbridge Street are served by the following local buses:
21, 212, 213, 240, 250, 251, 255, 505, 517.
By Rail
Nearest station is Waltham Cross, connecting London Liverpool Street or Tottenham Hale underground (Victoria Line) to/from Cheshunt/Broxbourne/Hertford East.
We are a 25 minute walk east from the station.
You may also take a bus or a cab (office at station).
