Beam Valley Country Park is a 74-hectare park in

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

in the

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London boroughs, London borough in East London. The borough was created in 1965 as the London Borough of Barking; the name was changed in 1980. It is an Outer London borough and the south is wi ...

. Most of it is designated as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) called Beam Valley, but a narrow strip next to the

River Beam The River Rom, also known as the River Beam below its confluence with the Ravensbourne, is a tributary of the River Thames in England that flows through the east London suburbs around Romford before joining the Thames at Dagenham. Part of the r ...

south from Western Avenue is a separate LNR called Beam Valley (Environment Agency). The park is also designated as two Sites of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1, one north and the other south of South Dagenham Road.The Mid Beam Valley in Barking and Dagenham and Dagenham East Lake
Greenspace Information for Greater London. Retrieved 2 November 2013.Beam Valley South in Dagenham and the Wantz Stream
Greenspace Information for Greater London. Retrieved 2 November 2013. The park was formerly derelict land. It has woodland and grassland, former gravel pits and the River Beam and Wantz Stream. Birds found on the site include kingfishers, reed warblers, reed buntings and skylarks. There is archaeological evidence that the site has been used since the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

, and it also has a Roman pottery kiln. In 2014 Beam Valley Country Park was connected to Bretons Manor when a new pedestrian and cycling bridge was installed over the River Beam by

Sustrans Sustrans ( ) is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United ...

References

{{Local Nature Reserves in Greater London Nature reserves in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Local nature reserves in Greater London Country parks in London