The London Borough of Waltham Forest is an outer London borough situated to the north-east of the city, bordered by Epping Forest to the north and the River Lea to the west. The borough encompasses the districts of Walthamstow, Leyton, Leytonstone and Chingford, and has a population of around 280,000 people. In recent years Waltham Forest has gained national recognition for its ambitious cycling infrastructure programme — the Mini-Holland scheme — and was named London Borough of Culture in 2019.