Southern Alfa Day 2024

8 sep 2024

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AROC

We are delighted to be hosting our Southern Alfa Day at the fabulous Royal Gunpowder Mills, Waltham Abbey on 8th September 2024.

With 300 years of intrigue and history in a stunning natural setting are ready to explore, Royal Gunpowder Mills is a fabulous day out for the whole family.

Visitor activities, talks, walks, tractor tours, a miniature and a narrow gauge railway, exhibitions, workshops and re-enactments are amongst the ways visitors can explore and enjoy our unique site.

The Royal Gunpowder Mills shaped military history as well as the development of civil industries such as mining and quarrying. It began as a family-run business, but later became Crown property and a major local employer of workers in the Lea Valley. Over the centuries the factory grew, adapting to new technologies, and expanding its workforce to meet the increasing demand for explosives and propellants.

Much of the 170-acre site is now a scheduled ancient monument and site of special scientific interest. The nature reserve attracts a wide range of birds, such as the siskin, barn owls, herons and kingfishers. Other animals that make their home at the Mills include fallow deer, muntjac, grass snakes and various species of bat. The waterways are inhabited by large carp and other fish, such as pike; in summer, these areas are alive with dragonflies and damselflies.