Length: 13.1 km (8.1 miles). Toughness 1/10
Take a District line tube (towards Upminster) to arrive at Hornchurch by 11:30. It's about a 50-minute journey from central London. Hornchurch and Upminster are both in TfL Zone 6.
Alternatively, take a c2c train from Fenchurch Street to Upminster (no later than the 11:02 to Laindon, arriving at 11:25) and double back a couple of stops on the District line.
There are six c2c trains an hour back to Fenchurch Street from Upminster, plus frequent District line tubes.
An impressively large number of walks inside the M25 are regularly being added to the SWC site but most are rather hidden away on a “Short Walks” page which tends to be overlooked by weekend walk posters. Some are more than long enough to qualify as a ‘day walk’, not least this one with its short optional extension included. It's a varied stroll through a succession of green spaces in the valley of the reed-lined River Ingrebourne, taking in habitats partly created from quarries and a former WW Ⅱ airfield. The notes also promise a fine view of the London skyline.
In common with other Short Walks there's no dedicated stop for a pub lunch, so have a decent brunch before you set out. There's a café in the Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre about two-thirds of the way round for a pit stop, plus a choice of refreshment places in Upminster if you want some more substantial fare at the end of the walk.
As usual there's no leader, so please download the GPS file and/or the directions from the L=short.34 page.
4 comments:
From memory of dropping in on the Visitor Centre when doing the London Loop, it has quite a decent cafe which might provide a light lunch. There's also interesting stuff about the former airfield
It's worth stopping at the Ingrebourne Valley Visitor Centre, which is run by the Essex Wildlife Trust. Apart from the cafe, they have some interesting wildlife books for sale and, when I was last there, some recycled secondhand toys and gifts beautifully restored and for sale. It should be noted that a short section of the path, on the northern (London) side of the Visitor Centre, sometimes floods. If approaching from the London side, look out for any signs of flooding and skirt round to the right (west) and then turn left (south). You'll come to the main road entrance, leading to the Visitor centre, where you rejoin the path.
The 11:02 Laindon train is showing as cancelled. If you were planning to travel out via Upminster you'll need to get the 10:53 Shoeburyness train.
I'm probably not best placed to write the walk report as I was one of the four who dallied at the start and got left behind the main group. I counted #12 walkers on this #cloudy_cold_but_dry day. We came across a mini swamp on first entering the woods but were able to tiptoe around the edges and I later heard that the others had taken a short cut to avoid it. We 4 did the full circular walk, stopping for a brief picnic lunch at the viewpoint then drinks in the visitor centre cafe later. I hear some of the others went to The Taproom in Upminster. Towards the end we came across our second mini swamp of the day - the flooded bit mentioned above - but we were able to avoid it by following David's directions. Otherwise, plenty of firm paths and I thought no more mud than usual at this time of year.
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