Resisting the urge to start at section 1, I opted to start the Loop at Chigwell, which according to Autoroute, is 10.8 miles and would take 19 minutes by car! (Only likely if you also have blue flashing light to go with it.) Getting to Chigwell by bus required more determination than I possessed so opted for the Tube which took an hour and 20 minutes to travel those 11 miles.I started
the walk at Chigwell tube on a bright but cold day with a very chilly wind. The first part of the walk takes you along the main road past the attractive church of St Mary’s (with a traditional Essex broach spire and white weatherboarding).
Ignoring the charms of Ye Olde King’s Head, a supposed haunt of Dick Turpin, the walk headed into the Essex countryside and was surprisingly rural. I covered a mile before crossing a road. The walk was gently hilly so afforded good views back towards London and also north into Essex. It was all new territory to me and despite not being very well signposted, I managed to get to Hainault Country Park in reasonable time for a lunch break.
Hainault Country was very familiar to me as it was one of the few areas of countryside easily accessible by bus as a child. I remember visiting here with my family and climbing to the top of Cabin Hill and searching out the dome of St Pauls. The view back towards the city doesn’t quite rival that of Hampstead or Ally Pally but it was a clear day and the London Eye was visible on the skyline.From Cabin Hill, I descended down across the golf course once again into pastures new. I was able to sit on a stile and pick out all the landmarks of Dagenham, including Ford
s wind turbine. At this point I was about 1 mile from the borders of Dagenham and 5 miles from home, yet I’d never seen this view before.I decided to break the walk when the route joined Havering Country Park. This would make it easier for me to get home and avoid climbing up another hill!. This walk had involved over 300 feet of climbing, which is quite a lot for Essex. It took me an hour to get back by bus, ready to enjoy my tea.
According to my pedometer I’d walked 5½ miles, according my GPS it was only 5.15 miles and should have taken me an hour and 41 minutes to complete. I actually took 3 hours and 45 minutes, but I did have a couple of rests and excursions from the route. Anyway, I’m not aiming to be the fastest person to complete the walk. This was a really good walk, with much to recommend as it was, peaceful with very little traffic to worry about and great views to both north and south.
Time for leg 3hr 45m Distance 5.5 miles Time for trip 6hr 20m Walk log
Section 20 Essentials
Distance and Time: 6 miles 9.7km 3 hours 10 minutes
Walking Conditions: mostly level, some longish slopes, stiles and kissing gates, some field edges, farmland and woodland path walking, can be muddy in winter.
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