Enjoy Architecture And Glorious Greenery (from East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

THIS is a walk along Epping High Street, a visit to an outpost of Epping Forest and a return along a tranquil section of the Essex Way. Choose a Sunday for this walk if you can.

The relative absence of traffic will emphasise just how attractive the broad High Street of Epping is. Once past the manicured greens and playing fields of Epping we enter one of the least visited but still attractive areas of Epping Forest, the Lower Forest or Wintry Wood. Bordered by roads, this 270 acre woodland contains pleasant green rides and an attractive lake.

We emerge eventually to enter Garnon Bushes, another delightful mixed woodland, criss-crossed by paths just inviting you to explore further. The return journey is along part of the Essex Way, the section leading to Steward' Green is particularly agreeable.

1. Start Leave the station and go right and almost immediately left to skirt the car park by a fenced path. Roughly halfway round you go right up steps. When you come to a road turn right along Centre Drive then left at the T-junction along Station Road. Keep forward until you reach a roundabout.

2. 0.5 miles/.9km Turn right along the High Street passing the church and the Civic Offices and keep forward to turn right along Stonards Hill. You will pass the entrance to the recreation grounds then climb some steps opposite Theydon Grove. This takes you into playing fields, aim for the far right corner.

3. 1.2 miles/2km Go forward between a hedge and white railings. After more playing fields you pass into woodland and emerge on a gravel track with a wooden fence on the left. Continue forward to a large green gate. Once through, go left up the edge of a large field and continue forward at its end to cross a bridge and walk up a gravel drive to reach a road.

4. 1.8 miles/2.9km Go straight across into woodland. When you come to a wider track, turn left and immediately fork right. When you reach a white post go right and continue forward across two junctions to go right at a T-junction along a much broader track marked by a white-topped post. After a little time you will see a lake over to the right and pass a bench on the left. Ignore a fork to the right and continue until you come to a junction with two white-topped posts on either side of a cross-track.

5. 2.6 miles/4.1km Turn right and continue to a barrier. Cross the road and continue forward on the lane opposite (Coopersale Common). Go under a railway bridge and turn left along Garnon Mead. When the houses on the right come to an end you continue through a gate to reach a cross-track with a waymarker.

6. 3.3 miles/5.2km Turn right. Emerge via a kissing gate onto a cricket ground, walk to the right of this and continue along an unadopted road to pass a school and eventually reach the main road.

Turn left and, just before St Alban's Church Little Ark nursery, go left on a wide grassy track. Go through a kissing gate and turn right and go down a series of steps to some duckboard. After crossing a bridge turn right at a waymarker to walk up the edge of a meadow. Halfway along the edge of the next field, go diagonally left at a waymarker to a gap in the hedge opposite.

Continue on the right-hand edge of the next field and go through another gap to cross a small field and emerge on a road.

7. 4.3 miles/6.9km Go right. Just past the junction with the Theydon Oak, look for a path on the left. Continue along this pleasant covered path, just after it is joined by a track coming in from the right, you reach a road.

8. 5.1 miles/8.2km Turn right for a few metres then go right at a finger post to walk up the edge of a field and continue round to reach a gap and go diagonally left across the next field. You reach a hedged path and continue along the back gardens to reach a road. Turn right and go left at Hill Crest Way at the end of which you climb steps to a bridge which returns you to the station.

Starting Point/Parking: Epping Station (there is a car park at the station which is free on Sundays, weekdays £3 Distance: 5.7 miles/9.1km Time: 3 hours Terrain: fairly flat but can be muddy. Suitable for dogs Stiles: 2 Refreshments: Pubs and cafes in Epping and Coopersale Public Toilets: none Public Transport: Epping station is on the Central Line Map and Grid Reference: Explorer 174, 462016 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).

Len Banister has written Drive and Stroll in Essex which contains 20 circular walks and contributed to Pub Walks for Motorists: Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk both are published by Countryside Books. He can be contacted by email if you have comments or suggestions for future walks at talkingwalking@aol.com I would like to thank everyone who emailed me and wrote letters pointing out the error I made in walk 93 when I suggested that the Nature Reserve at Roding Valley was on an airfield. In fact, as you all said, the site was that of Number 4 Balloon Centre where RAF personnel were taught how to launch barrage balloons.

What are these links for?

If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.

At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.

Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.

Newsquest
Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy © Copyright 2001-2008 Newsquest Media Group A Gannett Company
This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network

Hot Jobs