Hornchurch Country Park is a park on the former site of Hornchurch Airfield, south of Hornchurch in the London Borough of Havering, east London.
The River Ingrebourne passes through the park and if forms part of Thames Chase Community Forest. The most popular part of the park is to the west of the Ingreborne, where the ground is flat and paved; this area is most commonly frequented by dog walkers. The woodland to the east of the river is somewhat inaccessible, though not vast enough to be considered suitable by many hikers. Some southern parts of the park that reach into Rainham have been used as landfill.
There is a fishing lake located there, and there are many paths leading from the park to other nearby areas, including Upminster, Dagenham and Rainham.
There are a number of pillboxes and other items dating from the Second World War to be found in the park.
Famous quotes containing the words country and/or park:
“She had never known before how much the country meant to her. The chirping of the insects in the long grass had been like the sweetest music. She had felt as if her heart were hiding down there, somewhere, with the quail and the plover and all the little wild things that crooned or buzzed in the sun. Under the long shaggy ridges, she felt the future stirring.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)
“Is a park any better than a coal mine? What’s a mountain got that a slag pile hasn’t? What would you rather have in your garden—an almond tree or an oil well?”
—Jean Giraudoux (1882–1944)