Length: 12 km (7.5 miles); see † below for a longer walk. Toughness: 1/10
10:57 Cambridge North train from Liverpool Street (Hackney Downs 11:03, Tottenham Hale 11:10), arriving Cheshunt (in TfL Zone 8) at 11:18. You can use Oyster PAYG or contactless, but note that a Freedom Pass is only valid on the half-hourly London Overground services via Seven Sisters (arriving at xx:24 & xx:54).
There are fast trains back to Liverpool Street at xx:20 & xx:53, slower ones to Stratford at xx:28 & xx:58, plus the Overgrounds at xx:02 & xx:32.
This walk combines the extensive wetland landscape of River Lee Country Park with a short excursion into the town of Waltham Abbey for a possible pub lunch, a peek into its fine Norman church and a circuit of the Abbey Gardens. On the return route it's worth popping into the Terrace Bar & Café in the Lee Valley White Water Centre, either for some mid-afternoon refreshment or simply to watch the spectacle. Much of the walk is along surfaced paths, but be prepared for a few muddy stretches along the way.
You'll need to bring the directions from the L=swc.311.a page.
† For a longer walk of 17½ km (10.9 miles) you could do the full Main Walk, ie. continue past Cheshunt to return from the next station on the line. Broxbourne has four trains an hour back (not the Overgrounds), departing four minutes before the times at Cheshunt. See the walk document for more details.
4 comments:
probably going, it's due to rain about 2pm but majority of the walk will be completed by then
Getting Herford East train from Tottenham Hale🤞
N=6 turned up on a day that was w=chilly-first-with-light-rain-later A bit windy too.
On we went past a lake. After that, we went past another lake. Then a lake. Actually, there were lots of lakes. Also, bridges, ducks, swans cormorants, and geese. Eventually we reached Waltham Abbey where, after a bit of a wander, following someone’s upside-down phone app, we finally found the Crown. It was OK I suppose. Inescapable wall to wall football, but at least it was empty, which was more than can be said for the Welsh Harp.
We didn’t do the tour of the Abbey gardens cos the rain had started. We returned to the Country Park and headed forthwith for the station, reaching it at about 3.
Did I mention the lakes?
n=6 on this walk, quickly splitting into faster and slower threes.
The faster lot took a tour round the Olympic water sports centre, where there is a cafe with a terrace that's agreeable in summer. On this day the menu was confined to pasties, sausage rolls, baked potatoes and baked beans, which reminded me of university lunches from the 1970s. It was odd to see such a throwback in a place expensively constructed within the last decade. It's probably not at its most popular in February.
So we moved on to Waltham Abbey, where just as we reached the edge of town the two groups reunited, the slower lot having saved time by going straight past the water sports place.
Incompetent navigation by yours truly gave us an unintended tour of the surprisingly down at heel town, before locating The Crown. This pub is most charitably described as unpretentious, though the service was efficient and quick enough, and the prices low. Once a table of drinkers had left, we were the only customers, in contrast to another pub we had passed, the Welsh Harp, which had staff posted outside to announce that every table was taken.
The forecast rain arrived during lunch, leading us to take the most direct path back to Cheshunt Station, but it was never more than w=drizzle.
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