Leave the camera at home. Phones only, and that is a published rule.
“We do not allow use of Cameras (DSR) but do allow use of mobile phone cameras for personnel or social media purposes only.”
So the most photogenic room in east London, a warehouse packed wall to ceiling with working neon, will not let you bring a proper camera into it. A phone is fine, for personal or social use.
That rule exists because this is a working sign business and a film prop store rather than a gallery, and the stock is for sale and for hire.
It opens three days a week
The thing that wastes most trips, because people assume a London attraction opens daily.
Friday: 11am to 10pm.
Saturday: 11am to 10pm.
Sunday: 11am to 6pm.
Monday to Thursday it is shut. There is no weekday visit.
And it closes early for private events, which it publishes. Checked on 6 October 2026: Saturday 10 October 2026 closes at 6pm, and Saturday 24 October 2026 closes at 2pm.
Check the front of their site before travelling, because an early close on a Saturday removes most of the day.
Getting in changes after 6pm
A detail that catches evening visitors on an industrial estate.
“Access to Gods Own Junkyard after 6pm Fri/Sat/Sun. By car: via the estate entrance gates Shernhall Street. By foot: both pedestrian gates open from Shernhall Street and Summit Road.”
Before six you come in the normal way. After six the estate gates are the route, and on foot there are two pedestrian gates, one on Shernhall Street and one on Summit Road.
Worth knowing in the dark, in a yard, when the obvious entrance looks closed.
The bar is open whenever it is
“The Rolling Scones Cafe/Bar is open for food and drinks all weekend.”
That is the reason the Friday and Saturday hours run to 10pm. It is not a quick ten minute photo stop: you can sit down and drink in the middle of the neon until late.
Which makes it a genuine evening out rather than an attraction, and explains why it stays busy long after dark.
The signs are from the films
The collection’s provenance is the point, and it is specific.
God’s Own Junkyard was built by Chris Bracey, who the site describes as “the Neon Man for 37 years”, making work for David LaChapelle and Martin Creed among others.
Signs here have appeared with Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut, Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Jack Nicholson in Batman.
The site’s own explanation of why they ended up here is the best line on it: “When the film is wrapped neons are discarded like yesterday’s newspapers, unwanted, unloved.” Bracey collected them, along with salvaged street and architectural signage, repaired them and powered them back up.
What is in the yard now: new and used neon, salvaged and reclaimed signs, old movie props, retro displays, fairground and circus lighting, architectural sign salvage, and LED and cold cathode work.
Neon signs can be hired as well as bought, including LED, lightboxes and prop signs.
Where it is, and what else is in Walthamstow
God’s Own Junkyard, Unit 12, Ravenswood Industrial Estate, Shernhall Street, London E17 9HQ.
It is a walk from Walthamstow Central, at the end of the Victoria line, which puts it about 20 minutes from Oxford Circus plus the walk.
Since the yard only opens Friday to Sunday, it is worth building a day around it. Three things in walking or short bus distance:
Walthamstow Wetlands, the largest urban wetland nature reserve in Europe, free to enter.
Walthamstow Village, the conservation area around St Mary’s Church and Orford Road, with the Ancient House, the Vestry House Museum and several pubs. It is a fifteen minute walk from the yard and nothing like the rest of E17.
Walthamstow Market, which runs down the High Street and is among the longest street markets in Europe.
Together those make the Friday-to-Sunday constraint workable: the yard is the evening, the wetlands and the village are the day.
How to plan it
Friday, Saturday or Sunday only. Closed Monday to Thursday.
Check for early closures before travelling. Private events shorten Saturdays.
Phone camera only. No DSLRs.
Arriving after 6pm: use the estate gates on Shernhall Street, or the pedestrian gates on Shernhall Street and Summit Road.
Friday and Saturday run to 10pm, Sunday only to 6pm.
The bar is open all weekend, so it works as an evening rather than a stop.
Make a day of it: the Wetlands and Walthamstow Village are both nearby.
God’s Own Junkyard
- Address
- Unit 12, Ravenswood Industrial Estate, Shernhall Street, London E17 9HQ
- Nearest
- Walthamstow Central, at the end of the Victoria line, then a walk
- Hours
- Friday and Saturday 11am to 10pm, Sunday 11am to 6pm. Closed Monday to Thursday. Occasional early closures for private events are published on their site
- Booking
- None needed
- Price
- The Rolling Scones Cafe and Bar serves food and drinks all weekend. Neon signs are for sale and for hire
- Standing
- A warehouse of working neon built by Chris Bracey, the Neon Man for 37 years, holding salvaged film props, reclaimed street signage, fairground lighting and new neon, with a bar in the middle of it
How to get in
It opens only Friday to Sunday, with no weekday visit at all, and Friday and Saturday run to 10pm while Sunday stops at 6pm. DSLR cameras are not allowed; mobile phone cameras are permitted for personal or social media use only. After 6pm access is through the estate entrance gates on Shernhall Street by car, or the pedestrian gates on Shernhall Street and Summit Road on foot. Signs in the collection have appeared with Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut, Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Jack Nicholson in Batman.
Where to go next
Walthamstow Wetlands is the free nature reserve nearby, and Hackney covers the next borough west.
Unique things to do in London covers the rest, and London at night covers the evening.
Questions we get asked
When is God's Own Junkyard open?
Friday and Saturday 11am to 10pm, and Sunday 11am to 6pm. It is closed Monday to Thursday, so there is no weekday visit. Occasional early closures for private events are published on the front of their site, so check before travelling.
Can you take photos at God's Own Junkyard?
With a phone, yes. The yard states it does not allow the use of DSLR cameras but does allow mobile phone cameras for personal or social media purposes only. It is a working sign business and film prop store rather than a gallery, which is the reason for the rule.
Is there a bar at God's Own Junkyard?
Yes, the Rolling Scones Cafe and Bar, open for food and drinks all weekend. It is why the Friday and Saturday hours run to 10pm, and it makes the yard a place to sit and drink among the neon rather than a quick photo stop.
How do you get into God's Own Junkyard after 6pm?
By car, through the estate entrance gates on Shernhall Street. On foot, through either of the two pedestrian gates, on Shernhall Street and Summit Road. The access route changes after 6pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which is worth knowing on a dark industrial estate.
What films are the God's Own Junkyard signs from?
Signs in the collection have appeared alongside Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut, Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Jack Nicholson in Batman. Chris Bracey collected neons discarded after filming, along with salvaged street and architectural signage, and repaired and relit them.
What else is there to do in Walthamstow?
Walthamstow Wetlands, the largest urban wetland nature reserve in Europe and free to enter; Walthamstow Village, the conservation area around St Mary's Church and Orford Road with the Ancient House, Vestry House Museum and several pubs; and Walthamstow Market on the High Street, among the longest street markets in Europe. Since the Junkyard only opens Friday to Sunday, these make the rest of the day.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 370 in the guide.
Last checked 6 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
