It contains areas of woodland, grassland, heath, streams, bogs and ponds, and its elevation and thin gravelly soil (the result of glaciation) historically made it less suitable for agriculture.

[3][4] This environmental milestone came at a cost, as the City of London's early conservators did not understand the human processes that shaped the forest and its ecosystems, and discontinued the practice of pollarding trees while allowing grazing to decline.

The former small leaved lime (also known as pry or linden) dominated woodland permanently changed during the Anglo-Saxon period, possibly as a result of the selective cutting of trees.

In physical terms (rather than legal terms), the Forest is thought to have declined to something like its modern extent in the early fourteenth century (possibly long before),[7] the Black Death reached England in 1348, leading to a huge decline in population, perhaps between a third and a half, which took away the pressure on woods and commons, leading to a very long period of stability in the area of these land uses in England.

The customary Easter Monday hunt was repeated annually by a large and rowdy crowd of ordinary London tradesmen and working people, who gathered at Fairmead Oak to chase a previously captured stag, which was released from a cart and usually escaped unharmed.

In 1830, civil engineer James Nicoll McAdam, the son of John Loudon McAdam, was engaged by a turnpike trust, the Epping and Ongar Highway Trust, to construct a road from Woodford Green to Epping through the heart of the forest, to avoid Goldings Hill on the old road through Loughton and shorten the distance by one mile.

[17] In 1851 nearby Hainault Forest, where the Crown owned most of the land, was privatised (enclosed) and nearly all of the trees grubbed out in order to turn the area into poor quality farmland.

One landowner, Reverend John Whitaker Maitland, who had enclosed 1,100 acres (450 ha) in his manor of Loughton, was engaged in a long running dispute with a commoner called Thomas Willingale and his family, who insisted on maintaining his right to lop trees in the forest, despite inducements offered for him to stop.

The matter came to the public attention in 1866, when Willingale's son and two nephews were fined for damaging Maitland's trees, and were sent to prison for seven days when they refused to pay.

In July 1871, around 30,000 East Londoners gathered on Wanstead Flats to protest about fences which had been erected there by Earl Cowley to enclose forest land.

This act laid down a stipulation that the Conservators "shall at all times keep Epping Forest unenclosed and unbuilt on as an open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the people".

[35] Commoners, who are people who live in a Forest parish and own 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) of land, can still register and graze cattle during the summer months.

The building, a former Victorian coach house and stables,[38] together with Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge and Butler's Retreat form the Epping Forest Gateway.

On the western edge of the ridge, High Beach at a similar height, is an expanse of gravel and Bagshot sand, thought to have been deposited by an unknown river which flowed northwards from the Weald of Kent before the creation of the Thames Valley.

Indicator species of long-uninterrupted woodland include service-tree (Sorbus torminalis) butcher's-broom (Ruscus aculeatus) and drooping sedge (Carex pendula).

[49] By 1878 when the Epping Forest Act gave the deer firm legal protection, poaching had reduced the herd to twelve does and one buck; however, numbers had recovered to around 200 by the start of the 20th century.

[50] In 1954, it was noted that common lighter-brown fallow deer had begun to interbreed in the forest and some black examples were sent to Whipsnade Zoo to preserve this variety.

[50] Red deer were once found in Epping Forest, but the last survivors were rounded-up and taken to Windsor Great Park at the end of the 19th century.

[52] The announcement of licensed culling of fallow deer and muntjac in forest "buffer land" in 2016 was criticised by local residents but defended by environmentalists as necessary to prevent over-grazing of woodland undergrowth.

Mountain biking is generally permitted except around the Iron Age camps, Loughton Brook and other ecologically or geomorphologically sensitive areas.

Despite clear signposting, a minority of mountain bikers and horse riders continue to cause damage in these areas,[57] and the Conservators of Epping Forest have expressed their concern.

The forest is also used as a training area for many national level mountain-bike racers as it is highly regarded for its fast and tight flowing single track trails.

The track was closed when a swimming pool was added to the pub's grounds after the Second World War, though enthusiasts and veterans still gather at the site every year on the nearest Sunday to 19 February.

[69] William Morris, artist, writer and socialist, was born in Walthamstow in 1834, and spent his early years in what was then rural Essex, close to the outlying sections of the forest.

[74] Although the conditions in the camp were squalid, Thomas enjoyed the forest and the following year moved with his wife to a cottage at Paul's Nursery,[75] close to High Beach.

Dorothy L. Sayers' 1928 mystery Unnatural Death includes the discovery, in Epping Forest, of the body of a young woman possessing knowledge that could incriminate a murderer.

[83] A track on Genesis' 1973 album Selling England by the Pound is entitled "The Battle of Epping Forest", and refers to a real-life East End gang-fight.

The Wings album London Town includes the song "Famous Groupies" (written by Paul McCartney) with the lyrics, "There was a lead guitarist / Who lived in Epping Forest / And all he ever wanted was to blow".

[87] In the British BBC soap opera screened in February 1999, EastEnders, fictional character Steve Owen (Martin Kemp) accidentally killed his stalker Saskia Duncan (Deborah-Sheridin Taylor).

[89] In the episode "Day Trippers" of the Thames Television sitcom Robin's Nest, first broadcast on 27 November 1978, the main characters picnic in the forest.