Oct 29, 20264 min readMost driving tests at Wanstead end in a failWanstead's driving test centre passed 44.4% of candidates in 2025-26, against 50.0% across Great Britain. Official DVSA figures on first attempts, automatics, men and women, neighbouring centres and waiting times.
Oct 29, 20263 min readWanstead Hospital began as an orphanage and ended up as flatsWanstead Hospital closed in 1986, but the clock tower on Hermon Hill is still there. It began as a Victorian orphanage for the children of merchant seamen, passed through a convent and the NHS, and is now flats and a synagogue.
Oct 29, 20263 min readWanstead Park station is in Forest Gate, and not near the parkWanstead Park station sits in Forest Gate, not Wanstead, and nearer Wanstead Flats than the park it is named after. Trains, buses, access, history and how to reach Wanstead from it.
Oct 28, 20264 min readWanstead Library, a prize-winning 1969 building with a hall for hireWanstead Library, on Spratt Hall Road, is open six days a week, has a hall for hire and an award-winning 1969 building. Here are the hours, how to join and what you will find inside.
Oct 28, 20264 min readWanstead Leisure Centre has a gym, classes and no poolWanstead Leisure Centre has a 45-station gym and classes, but no pool. The promised replacement, with a 25m swimming pool, has been delayed for years. Here is where things stand.
Oct 28, 20266 min readRedbridge bins, garden waste and the Chigwell Road tip, sortedRedbridge Council is rolling out food waste collections this winter, free garden waste returns in spring, and the Chigwell Road tip has strict rules on vans, DIY waste and proof of address. Here is what you need to know.
Oct 28, 20264 min readSnaresbrook, home of a Crown Court that began life as an orphanageSnaresbrook is known for its Crown Court, its Central line station and a large pond on the edge of Epping Forest. The court's story goes back to a Victorian orphanage. The full guide.
Oct 28, 20264 min readWanstead tube station, a Central line stop with a secret pastWanstead station opened in 1947 after sitting unfinished through the war. It's a Central line, Zone 4 station with escalators but no lifts. How to use it, and the story behind it.
Oct 28, 20265 min readWanstead Flats, east London's wide-open playgroundA big, open stretch of Epping Forest between Wanstead, Forest Gate and Leytonstone, the Flats are London's most democratic playground: sport, wildlife, picnics and a Saturday-morning parkrun.
Oct 28, 20266 min readWanstead Park, a ruined grotto, a Georgian temple and a lake in troubleOnce the grounds of one of England's grandest houses, Wanstead Park is now a Grade II* registered landscape with a ruined grotto, a Georgian temple and a lake system under strain. The full guide.
Oct 28, 20265 min readParks in Wanstead, from the lost estate to the village greensWanstead sits between Epping Forest and the River Roding and is unusually rich in green space. What each park is, who looks after it, and what to check before you go.
