CAN YOU HELP US?

There's one big thing that sets Forest Radio apart from our competition. We do it all for free.


From the very beginning our aim was to create a radio station we would want to listen to. Twenty four years later Forest Radio is the fastest growing internet radio station in Essex. 


But in order for us to continue playing the good time oldies we need your help.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE
CLICK HERE TO DONATE

The charity behind Forest Radio


To many of our listeners, Forest Radio is part of their daily life. We're with them in their home, their car and at work. People all over the world have discovered us, sometimes by accident, through their smart speakers, via social media or simply by bumping into us on Google. If that's your story we say thank you for being a part of what we do.


There is another side to Forest Radio. We're part of a charity set up back in the seventies with the intention of entertaining patients and staff within NHS hospitals around Essex in the UK.


We still do that. We share our mix of good time oldies to four NHS hospitals in Essex. Our programming was initially designed specifically for them. Offering a little light relief from the pressures of working and staying in hospital. But as patients and staff began asking if they could take us home we made that happen and thousands of other people came along for the ride.


All of our staff are volunteers, many of us have regular jobs doing a myriad of different things during the day but we're all passionate about great music and have many years of broadcasting experience to make Forest Radio sound the way it does.

Donate a day


Running a radio station within and beyond the NHS is not a cheap undertaking. The technology needed to serve our audience is expensive and many of our day to day costs have increased. It costs around £35 a day to keep Forest Radio on air, and all of our income comes from fundraising and donations.


In order to do that we need your help!


If you love listening to our blend of good time oldies please consider making a voluntary donation of whatever you can afford to keep our service alive. We would like to ask for your help all through July by donating whatever you can give.


Thank you.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE
2 August 2026
North Weald Village Rich in History and Community Spirit For nearly 50 years Forest Radio has been proud to serve communities across Essex. We have been dedicated to bringing listeners a unique blend of music from the 1950s through to the 1990s, alongside trusted community news , local information and health advice . One of the communities we're delighted to broadcast to is the historic village of North Weald , nestled in the beautiful Epping Forest district of Essex.
26 July 2026
Harlow – Built for the Future, Proud of Its Past For nearly 50 years, Forest Radio has proudly served communities across Essex, bringing together great music, local information and trusted health advice. We've been part of the county's community spirit, and today we're delighted to broadcast to listeners across Harlow and the surrounding area. Whether you're tuning in for classic hits from the 1950s through to the 1990s, local news, community updates or health information, Harlow is one of the vibrant towns we're proud to call part of our home turf.
21 July 2026
Discover the history of Epping, Essex and learn why Forest Radio has proudly called the historic market town home since 1980. Classic hits, local news and community information.
2 May 2026
We’ve Got Some News… And It’s Pretty Special  We’re absolutely buzzing to share this one… Forest Radio has been awarded Epping Town Council’s Community Award 🏆 Not bad for a team that started out broadcasting to hospital beds back in 1976.
2 October 2025
Our Feel Good Team is made up of staff from Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT) and Classic Hits Forest Radio who have worked collaboratively to bring this project together. EPUT West Essex Integrated Community Physical and Mental Health teams joined together to develop a range of helpful soundbites to advise and support health promotion strategies for listeners. The Feel Good team invite you to tune in to Classic Hits Forest Radio for regular Feel Good information on how to make small changes that could have a big impact on your mind, body and spirit. We hope you enjoy listening. For more information on our Feel Good soundbites please click on the links below.
10 June 2025
On our community bulletin board you can find details of events, exhibitions and things to do in the Epping area. If you'd like to tell us about your event, look out for contact details at the foot of this page.
4 June 2023
Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Radio all squeezed into 500 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count). So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Duran Duran. But don't get too comfy, it is only 500 words (ish).
JERRY LEE LEWIS IN 250 WORDS (ish)
30 October 2022
Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Radio all squeezed into 250 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count). So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Jerry Lee Lewis. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).
1 May 2022
Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a band or artist we play on Classic Hits Forest Radio all squeezed into 400 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count). So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about Chas & Dave. But don't get too comfy, it is only 250 words (ish).
6 March 2022
Here's one of our potted histories. Everything you need to know about a musical genre we play on Classic Hits Forest Radio all squeezed into 600 words (ish) (just in case you were going to count). So pull up a chair and find out everything you need to know about classical music. But don't get too comfy, it is only 600 words (ish).