The Beckham trail

The Beckham trail has not been authorised, endorsed or licensed by David Beckham or any of his representatives. The Beckham trail was initiated by the London Borough of Waltham Forest independently of David Beckham and his representatives.

David Beckham was born on 2nd May 1975 at Whipps Cross Hospital (1) [E11 1NR] maternity unit and lived as a young boy in a terraced house in nearby Leytonstone, E10.

From here, move west around the North Circular (A406), turning north off the Crooked Billet roundabout towards Chingford take the fifth exit sign-posted Highams Park along Wadham Road. Here you will come to the Peter May Sports Centre (2) [E17 4HR], now home to Ridgeway Rovers where Beckham played for the under 10 side and scored more than 100 goals in three seasons.

Go back to Chingford Road and go north where you will soon pass Walthamstow Stadium (3) [E4 8SJ], where David worked as a £10 a night glass collector on greyhound race nights.

Carry on up Chingford Mount taking a right along Royston Avenue until you come to Ainslie Wood (4) [map showing Ainslie Wood]. When visiting his grandparents who lived in the council flats beside the Wood, David would take the opportunity of playing at the council's pitches here.

Carry on up Chingford Mount and turn left into Hampton Road and second right into York Road. You will see Chase Lane Junior School (5) [E4 8LA] which David attended. He played for the school side and also the Waltham Forest District and Essex County teams. He used to play at the adjacent Chase Lane park playing fields.

Back onto Chingford Mount heading North, turn right down Larkswood Road to the playing fields and Larkswood Park (6) [map showing Larkswood Park] where David practiced his skills as a boy. It is here where he played with his dad, spending hours perfecting his now legendary free kick.

Moving further North up Chingford Mount you can see where David would play as he grew older either on the left at Mansfield Park (7) [map showing Mansfield Park] or on the right at Ridgeway Park (8).

Head North again from these parks up Chingford Mount, Old Church Road and straight over the Crossroads and right into Nevin Drive. David's secondary school, Chingford School (9) [E4 7LT], is on the left where he played for the school side when he won the Bobby Charlton Soccer tournament which he saw advertised on TV one night after school.

Moving back onto Old Church Road, turn right along Mansfield Hill (A112) and carry on this road alongside the reservoir until you see the pillar box on your right. Turn right into Daws Hill. Follow the road for about 1 mile, ignoring the entrance at the crest of the hill. Go past the duck pond on your left and the main entrace to Gilwell Park (10) [E4 7QW] is on your right. This is where David went on cub camp.

Getting around the online Beckham trail

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