Gilwell Park

Gilwell Park
Owner	The Scout Association
Location	Waltham Abbey, London, E4 7QW
Gilwell Park (England)
Country	England
Coordinates	51°39′01″N 0°0′08″E / 51.65028°N 0.00222°E / 51.65028; 0.00222
Website www.scoutadventures.org.uk
Scouting portal

Gilwell Park is a camp site and activity centre in East London located in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey, within Epping Forest, near the border with Chingford. The 109-acre (44 ha) site is owned by The Scout Association, is used by Scouting and Guiding groups. As the original base of leadership training in the Scout movement,^[1] it is an important site of the worldwide Scouting movement.

In the late Middle Ages, the area was used as a farm, which grew to become to a wealthy estate that fell into disrepair around 1900. In 1919, Scout Commissioner William de Bois Maclaren bought the estate and gave it to The Scout Association to provide camping facilities for London Scouts and training for Scouters. Scout leaders from all countries of the world have visited Gilwell Park for their Wood Badge training.

Gilwell Park is also host to Scout Adventures Gilwell Park, one of twelve national centres run by or in partnership with the Scout Association, including Downe and Youlbury.

The site has a number of camping fields, indoor accommodation, historical sites, Scouting monuments, and outdoor adventure activities. The site can accommodate up to 10,000 people, and regularly does so. The site is also used by schools and other youth organisations, and hosts social events such as weddings and birthday parties.