13.5km (8.4 miles) 1/10 or 20.4 km/12.7 miles 2/10
Leytonstone to Loughton makes a short walk covers the southern part of the ancient woodlands of Epping Forest, starting in London’s East End and heading generally NNE to Loughton in Essex. You have to cross some busy roads but apart from the urban start and finish, it is an outing through open woodland and more densely forested areas. Recommended as a winter walk and this part of the forest shouldn't be as muddy as more northern sections. Mid-walk, you pass Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge, a unique timber-framed survivor from Tudor times (free entry, open 10-4).
On the approach to Loughton, there is the option
of continuing to Epping along the Centenary Walk. This is not the
longer Loughton-Epping route sometimes done as a day walk (you could
try that but the underfoot conditions won't be great) but the more
direct “evening” walk variation of walk
197), all on good tracks, adding 7 km/4.3 miles to give a total
walk of 20 km/12.7 miles.Although this is route is fairly frequently walked by the club, I've only just added proper directions and a GPX for it to this page, so a check would be useful.
Travel: The whole walk is within TfL zones 3-6. Get to Leytonstone underground station (Central line) for a 1045 start. Loughton and Epping are also on the Central line with about 9 trains an hour back towards central London.
Lunch: The Larder at Butlers Retreat 12 Rangers Road , Tel 020 7998 7858. Originally a 19th century barn, it is now an up-market licensed café doing good lunches as well as more snacky options (the Royal Forest Brewer's Fayre pub is closed).
Tea: In Loughton High Road, off the direct route to the station, there are a number of cafés and pubs; the Wagon Boulangerie 174 High Road was nice on the last visit. Similar choice in Epping where the walk route goes past the Forest Gate Inn and the High Street (slightly off route) has more pubs and cafés.
Shorter option: You could finish the walk at Chingford (London Overground Weaver line), about 10 minutes walk from the lunch stop, giving a walk of about 10 km/6 miles.
For walk
directions, map and GPX click
here.
T=swc.241
2 comments:
I read somewhere that it is set to be the wettest February on record. If so, today's rain surely clinched it. I've walked this route at many times of year but today, paths that I remember as firm were super-saturated. Many little detours and one major one were needed past the most waterlogged areas.
#5 stalwarts set off from Leystonstone, one opining that a lunchtime start from Chingford might have been a better bet. Indeed it might. By the time we emerged from a late lunch at the Butler's Retreat (three ate, good food if a bit pricey for what it was), we could have been in a different country with sun, blue sky and - after 10 minutes or so - a solid track underfoot.
By this time two had bailed out and got the train from Chingford. Another had done an ingenious manoeuvre in the morning and detoured to Highams Park to catch a train for one stop to Chingford. At the path junction she carried on towards Epping for a bit but the remaining two were tired after the morning of trudging through the mud and called it a day at Loughton shortly after 3. #Steady-rain-clearing-in-afternoon.
What did it for me was a point where the onward path wasn’t just waterlogged, there were ducks swimming on it! The only obvious option was a long slither back to the nearest road. Could have followed it round.to continue, but no. Time to ‘duck’ out and head for Chingford.
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