Hatfield Forest Car Park

Free for National Trust members. Bit pricey if you're not, though.

Of all the car parks at hatfield forest this easily makes the top 50 for me...you can do all sorts here...park the car..pay for parking..leave the car (at your own risk of course!)..and indeed return to your car..wow factor is definatly there

Hatfield Forest is a gift, a stunning feature in the landscape, an uplifting and thoroughly enjoyable place to visit, and it's completely FREE to enter. You can cycle there from the Flitch Way, walk there from Takeley Street, get off a bus on Dunmow Road and walk 100 yards straight into it. IT IS FREE FOR ALL OF US. The National Trust do all of this for us, for no charge. It's outstanding of them.
(The ranty bit) - OR you can drive there in your own car, park in a private car park and follow any number of nice paths right into the woods and round the lake. Of course it's not going to be free to park - THEY HAD TO TARMAC OVER THE FOREST TO MAKE IT! Then maintain the thing because hundreds of thousands of other people use the car park each year without complaining.
Visit outside of peak hours and the parking is free, what more can you ask?!? Please, just pay the small fee if you want to step out of the car and straight into this FREE splendour. Or join the National Trust and they will teach you about all the hard work that goes into maintaining a 403.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Just visit it, enjoy it and perhaps give a back a few quid in the car park or cafe. My family absolutely love the place and take pleasure in giving them some money for the privilege of using it.

Stunning place, beautiful grounds, friendly staff, facilities etc