Its A Wonderful Weald To Walk In (from East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Discover a beautiful country park and experience the delights of a walk absolutely drenched with bluebells. Surprisingly few walkers in the Guardian readership area know of the Weald Park north west of Brentwood.

The probable reason is the barrier presented by the M25. In fact the park is a wonderful area for a whole variety of walks with hills, woodland, open plains and lakes crammed with wildfowl. Beside all this there is an excellent visitor centre in a Grade II listed barn.

The centre, besides housing a shop and refreshment area, has an exciting free exhibition full of lively interactive displays.

The Weald Country Park was once a deer park used for hunting by the abbots of Waltham around 1063. There are still deer here and you are guaranteed to see some towards the end of the walk.

More recently there was a Great Hall and you will encounter some remains of its gardens at the start. At appropriate times of the year it is worth visiting to see daffodils, azaleas and rhododendrons.

But the reason for going now is to see the bluebells these will line most of your walk if you go in the next few weeks.

1. Start First of all, check that you are in the right car park you should have passed a visitors' centre and lavatories on the right as you entered. Go to the back and on to open ground and turn right to walk towards the church on the hill. Going to the right of a clump of rhododendrons you come to a flight of brick built steps on your left. Go up these. Walk forward, passing a seat and going between azaleas and rhododendrons. At a cross track turn right and walk up on a pebbled track to an ornamental arch. (If you turn your back to the arch you will get a good view across the park. Turn left and walk downhill. You will come to an information board.

2. 0.4 mile/0.6km About 15m further on turn left through a gate to the bluebell pond picnic area. Go forward, slightly to the right, to cross a pond by a curved wooden bridge then take the second turning left to leave the picnic area. Now go forward with a cricket ground on your right. The path, winding slightly, takes you uphill. With huts over to your right, the path curves gradually to the left so that you are now walking parallel to the road. Pass a kissing gate on the right and eventually come to a fence.

3. 1mile/1.6km Turn left to go through a barrier and downhill with a lake on your right. After a dip, go up a gentle slope which swings to the right with a wire fence. Keep forward past two benches to go through a metal gate on the right and passing a carved wooden squirrel on the left. At a T-junction go right and, just before you reach the road turn left.

4. 1.2miles/1.9km This track rises and falls to go left along the border of the park. The nature of the trees changes when you reach Larch Wood. When you are confronted by rough steps going up a mound avoid them and go left to reach a junction with greenhouses over to the right through the trees and a dog litter bin.

5. 1.9miles/3.1km Turn left to go slightly downhill through a barrier. At the next junction go right and swing left with this path ignoring a right fork. When the path eventually forks go right and then left on a wide track. At a T-junction turn right to a bench and an open area.

6. 2.3 miles/3.7km Walk downhill along the edge of woodland on the left. At the bottom of the hill swing right towards the lake. If you go up to the edge of the lake you will discover a path which you follow to the right.

Turn left over a brick bridge which takes you onto a causeway. Once across you will see deer in the field on your right as you walk uphill back to the car park.

Starting Point/Parking: The Park is well served with car parks so it is important that you go to the correct one. Assuming that you are coming off the M25 at junction 28, take the A1023 for a short distance then take a left turn up Wiggly Bush Lane. At the T junction in front of South Weald Church turn left. Go past the first entrance to the park and take the second (on the right) to pass the visitor centre and enter the car park. All the car parks are pay and display (£2 for over 2 hours)

Distance: 3.1 miles/4.9km Time: two hours at a leisurely pace Terrain: a mixture of good and potentially muddy paths with gentle gradients.

Stiles: none Near: Brentwood Refreshments: tea and coffee in the visitor centre and a reasonable pub in South Weald Village Public Toilets: at the start Public Transport: none Map and Grid Reference: Explorer 175, 568 941. A much more useful map is produced by Essex County Council Environmental Services you can obtain this by ringing the rangers 01702 551 072 (answerphone) or by picking one up from the visitor centre.

More Information: West Essex Ramblers: memberships and free programme of walks with leaders: 020 8524 2737 (Redbridge Group: 01708 456 771 and Lea Valley Friends, who specialise in walks of 3 to 4 miles: 020 8529 7328).

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