Sunday Walk: Loughton to Epping

13.4km (8.4miles) Difficulty 3/10.
Maybe you're not keen on gaily dressed vagabonds braying in your ear, or maybe you’re just allergic to seaweed. Whatever the reason, why not try this wander through the ancient woodland of Epping Forest instead. Then, a bit more of a wander through open countryside with good views around Copped Hall Park. Nary a folksinger in earshot (but bring earplugs just in case).
The forest is renowned for its ancient pollarded trees, primarily oak, beech and hornbeam, which support a wealth of rare insects and fungi and it is common to see deer in the more open areas.
Transport
The walk starts from Loughton Underground Station at 10.30am. Meet outside near the ticket gates.
Loughton and Epping are both in Travel Zone 6 on the Central Line. Trains are frequent. Use the TfL journey planner to calculate your journey time. 
There is car-parking at both Loughton and Epping underground stations.
Lunch
You got two options
You could try for an early lunch at High Beach Visitor Centre where there is a refreshments kiosk, toilets, café and the Kings Oak pub (0208 508 5000).
You also got the Horseshoes pub (01992  712745 )   in Copthall Green , better placed, with  friendly service and good food.  Check if they can accommodate you, give them a bell (as they say on Eastenders).
80m before the Horseshoes, the entrance gate to St Thomas’ Church leads to a pleasant grassy area with wooden benches suitable for a picnic.
Tea
The recommended tea stop is the Verde Café, 88 High Street, Epping (01992 571476). Like most Epping teashops, it closes at 4pm on a Sunday. If you're too late, there are pubs  in Epping High Street (see text).
Walk Directions here 
You can shorten the walk to about 5 miles by staying on the 3 Forest Way at paragraph 7  and re-joining the main walk at the end of paragraph 30 (see text)
A map and compass are recommended for some sections. (or one of them whizzy gizmo things)
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