During the summer months, particularly on Saturday afternoons and all day Sundays, the 101 bus ran all the way from North Woolwich to the Beehive in Lambourne End, attracting crowds of people who would make their way through the forest.
Crowds patronised the many tea rooms in Chigwell Row and Lambourne End including Boxalls (shown here) and The Chestnut tea rooms.
Opposite the Beehive (now The Camelot), there was a clearing in the forest that was known as Boyd's Field, named after a man named Boyd who used to keep horses there. Adjacent to the field, there was an iron pound where stray horses and cattle were temporarily held until their owners could be notified.
The day trippers produced a significant amount of litter. On Mondays, the local foresters would spend the entire day picking up the rubbish left by the visitors. They carried a sack around their necks and used spiked sticks to aid in their task. In a hollow area not far from the local pound, there was a large hole where all the rubbish was dumped and burned.
(Thanks to the Hainault Forest website for the info)
