Valentines Area Guide

Join us for a guided tour of Valentines Mansion and delve into over 320 years of fascinating history.  Followed by tea and biscuits in one of our period rooms.  

Our Wellbeing walks (previously known as Walking for Health) group offers free walks for adults in the borough. Meeting at various parks and open spaces across Redbridge on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Walking has many health benefits and best of all its free, all you need to do is turn up and enjoy the company. Meeting points and difficulty grades for walks: 1 = easy, flat walk at a gentle pace on hard surfaces 2 = steady pace, some gentle slopes and uneven terrain 3 = steady to a faster pace, some hills and uneven terrain ★ = all these walks are accessible for wheelchair users 20 to 45 minutes / Grade 1 to 2 Hainault Forest Country Park (Wednesdays): Meet at the car park adjacent to Global Cafe 60 minutes / Grade 3 Please note that one of the three pedestrian entrances on Romford Road (opposite New North Road) will be closed temporarily to allow the footpath improvement work to take place. Please follow the signs that have been put up to give notice and re-direct people to the main pedestrian entrance. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Join us for our Vaisakhi Craft Session. A fun creative session for children to make colourful Vaisakhi-themed craft. There is no booking for this event, just turn up and join in! We have limited craft supplies for each arts and crafts session, and seats are first come, first go. Suitable for ages 5+

Join us for a Spring Walk! The Friends of Valentines Mansion is a charity that promotes the use and enjoyment of "Valentines Mansion & Gardens" in the London Borough of Redbridge. The 17th century mansion is a Grade II listed building. The park as a whole is a Conservation Area with Grade II listed features. Both were restored in 2007/8 with Heritage Lottery Funding. For this Spring Walk, following on from the very successful (though wet!) Autumn Walk, we are launching a new publication, an illustrated booklet containing a guided tour of 25 trees in this historic parkland, reflecting the different layers of tree planting over hundreds of years. For one day only - this walk will be guided byexpert garden historian and horticulturalist, Stephen Smith who co-authored the booklet. The booklet can be used throughout the year, to help discover and record the beauty of these trees at different seasons. The route is clearly set out for walkers to follow. This ticket price includes a copy of the booklet. At other times the booklet will be available on Sunday and Monday Open Days from the mansion. Or ask at the Gardener's Cottage Cafe. Suggested price 2. Meet at the entrance to the mansion in time to start the walk at 2pm. The walk lasts approximately one hour. There are some grassy or muddy areas you may wish to explore, so please wear suitable footwear, though most of the walk is flat and accessible using footpaths. The walk will end at the delightful Gardener's Cottage Cafe (open every day 10am - 5pm) for a cup of tea!

Step into a world alive with humour through storytelling in this interactive, bold workshop. Guided by Almass Badat, we’ll unearth the joy, express the real, and amplify the voices of Redbridge’s creative community. Together, we’ll craft a five-minute provocative audio piece and collage-cover art, celebrating laughter as a radical act of empowerment and presenting oral history as radical art.

Come along to our creative craft where we will be making and decorating a birdhouse out of paper and card. Free, drop in. Limited spaces available, first come first served.