Gilwell Park heritage trail

Explore Gilwell Park at your own pace by following the Gilwell heritage trail, covering 29 of Gilwell Park’s most fascinating historic locations. 

Discover who really stayed in the Pig Sty and why Gilwell Park is home to a caravan that sounds like a cake! For our younger visitors Buddy the Buffalo will guide you round a shorter tour as you follow him to find his way home.

Download Heritage Trail

The trail is free of charge, however we welcome donations to support the on-going maintenance of the Heritage Collection and the historic landscape of Gilwell Park. Donations can be made online or by using the donations box at reception.

Faith Walk

The heritage trail also incorporates Gilwell Park's Faith Walk. UK Scouts is open to people of different religions as well as those of no formal faith. Our programme helps us explore our own beliefs, attitudes and values as well as discovering those of other people. 

Our Founder, Robert Baden-Powell, believed that by learning about the way other people live young people could create a more peaceful world. This has remained at the heart of what we do, and while visiting Gilwell Park you can find out about our special faith spaces and the different religions they represent.

If you wish to use one of the faith spaces while you’re at Gilwell Park, please contact the Scout Adventures reception team.

Gilwell Park guidebook

Want to know even more about Gilwell Park's unique story and have a souvenir to take with you? You'll find the Gilwell Park guidebook for sale at Scout Adventures reception and in The Providore. It's 71 pages packed full of fascinating facts and stories, and just £5.00 per copy. 

Reserve your copy when booking with Scout Adventures to receive a 10% discount, and we'll have it ready for you to pick up from us when you check-in.

White house art gallery

Explore some of the highlights of the art in our Heritage Collection by visiting the White House. The works are displayed in the corridors, the Baerlein Suite and the Group Room.

The paintings show scenes of Scouting from the Movement’s first 20 years and explore their relevance today. Discover their stories and how the ethos they show is still demonstrated in modern Scouting. 

A visit to the art gallery can support you to complete the Cubs artist badge and other areas of your programme.

The gallery is by appointment only. Please contact heritage@scouts.org.uk to book.

Our history

Gillwell Park was donated to the Scouts in 1919. However, you might not know that the site has a fascinating 500 year history even before the arrival of the first Scouts. Find out more about some of the highlights of Gilwell Park's history on the Scouts website. 

Unfortunately there's currently no museum at Gilwell Park. We're hoping to put together a display space at Gilwell Park in the future, but this is currently a long-term plan. 

As we have a duty of care to the items in the Heritage Collection, many of which are of international importance, we're unable to show and handle them on demand.

Visiting Gilwell Park

Let us know you're coming

Planning to visit to explore our heritage and the grounds for the day? Fantastic, we'd love to have you!

Please drop us an email so we can check that Gilwell Park is open to visitors on your chosen date and make a note that you're coming to see us.

Getting to us

Our closest train station is Chingford, with trains running to Walthamstow every 15 minutes.

From central London, take the Victoria line to Walthamstow, and then change to the London Overground service to Chingford. We reccommend planning your journey using the Transport for London website.

Gilwell Park is about a 30 minute walk from Chingford - it's a busy road with only a partial foothpath, so please be careful! Taxis are available from the station if you prefer. 

During your visit

Please come to reception when you arrive to let us know you're on-site. We can help answer any questions, give you maps and directions, and a copy of our heritage trail. You can arrange to visit our souvenior shop, The Providore, too. 

The Providore sells a range of Gilwell Park memorabilia, badges, Gilwell training scarves, Wood Badges and more. Please ask at reception and the team will be happy to open the shop for you.

Please be aware that no pets, other than assistance animals, are permitted on-site. Smoking is only permitted in designated areas, and no smoking or drinking is allowed in front of young people. 

Please be mindful when visiting, as the centre is likely to have lots of groups of young people visiting. Please be aware of our young people first policy.

Staying at Gilwell Park

If you're a current Scout or Guide volunteer, or bringing your group, why not complete your visit to Gilwell Park by staying overnight? Talk to our customer support team and check out the rest of our website for more information and pricing.