Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Chipping Ongar Walking Route

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Chipping Ongar Walking Route

This circular walking route in Chipping Ongar starts at the unique Log Church in Greensted and follows the Essex Way before returning back along the Three Forest Way to Ongar Castle Motte and Baileys in Essex.

This walking route is actually really easy to navigate as there are so many signposts, waymarkers and footpath signs it is almost impossible to stray off the route making it a great Essex walk. It’s a very easy going walk mainly on wide grassy paths and well worn tracks with the only slightly muddy parts being walking across the open farmland and fields. It was really windy today so we all had our windproof walking jackets on and I kept to my usual walking bootsand had Tedi strapped in to the child carrier with Mary on map duty as I scribbled walking notes and took a few photographs.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Chipping Ongar Walking Route – The Essex Way

Greensted Log Church is just off the A414 between the M11 and Chelmsford down Blake Hall Road and in to Greensted Road. We parked in the lane by the Log Church and had a quick look around. Then we walked out of the church and turned left by the signpost for The Essex Way to a small garden gate, again signposted The Essex Way with a small pond on our right hand side we walked along the wide grassy path with the lake on our left hand side. At the yellow signpost we walked across fields to a lane and another yellow signpost where we turned left in to Bansons Lane, passed Sainsbury and Budworth Hall turning left up the A128.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Chipping Ongar Walking Route – Log Church Greensted Entrance

We then crossed over and walked up to the next Essex Way footpath sign and turned right in to Love Lane also signposted the Recreational Ground walking through a gate by the footpath signpost to another yellow signpost walking straight ahead turning left and then right by the Essex Way signpost walking down the field edge with the hedgerow on our right hand side.We then turned left at the rusty post signposted Essex Way to walk along the wide grassy path to a road, the A414.

We then turned right at the rusty gate and followed the Essex Way footpath signpost turning left over the stile and up the steps where we then crossed the road to the next Essex Way signpost and down the steps turning right to cross over the next stile and the next road and stile keeping to the left on to the wide grassy path. We then followed the direction of the signpost straight across the open farmland to the next field where we followed the field edge around to the right and in the corner of the small set of trees pushed the branches out of the way to then find a metal gate and our next Essex Way signpost.

We then crossed the footbridge and followed the track by the stream, keeping the stream on our right hand side, as it meandered all the way up crossing several footbridges on the way to the end and a large metal footbridge at Tun-Bridge. We then crossed the footbridge and turned right diagonally across the field to the next signpost and then continued straight ahead keeping left of the field edge as we then started our return journey along the Three Forests Way.

We then crossed a footbridge by the yellow waymarker, across the next field to another yellow waymarker and straight ahead in to woodland by the next yellow waymarker before joining the driveway of the Little Forest Hall. We continued our walk along the lane where we then forked right to walk across the field at the next yellow signpost where we then walked around the trees to the next yellow signpost and the wide grassy path that ran parallel to the lane on our left hand side. We then passed the woodland on our left hand side walking straight across the next open farmland field to cross the stile, the road and the next stile in to a field and through the residential housing turning right at The Forresters Arms.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Chipping Ongar Walking Route – Ongar Village Sign

We then turned left in to Mill Lane and right by the public footpath signpost, through the metal gate and straight ahead where we then turned right over the metal bridge to walk straight ahead by the yellow waymarker to rejoin a very short section of the beginning of the walk by the rusty signpost for St Peters Way and Essex Way. We then continued straight ahead and then followed the wide grassy path between the fields as it turned left to a playground on our right hand side.

We then followed this pathway as it meandered around to the signpost for Ongar Castle Motte and Baileys following the signposts agin for The Essex Way. At the kissing gate and next signpost for The Essex Way we turned right by the telegraph pole down the alley where we then turned left passed St Martins Church, which dates back to 1080, we then turned right up the A128 road and back in to the village of Ongar. We then turned left in to Bansons Lane and back passed Sainsbury and retraced our earlier steps all the way back to the Log Church at Greensted exactly 3 hours later and covering about 7 good miles.

 

About Greensted Log Church Greensted Church, in the small village of Greensted, near Chipping Ongar in Essex, England, is the oldest wooden church in the world, and probably the oldest wooden building in Europe still standing, albeit only in part, since few sections of its original wooden structure remain. The oak palisade walls are often classified as remnants of a palisade church or a kind of early stave church, dated either to the mid-9th or mid-11th century.

About Ongar Castle Motte and Baileys A 12th Century motte and bailey castle occupied until the 16th century. The overgrown motte still stands over 50 feet high and is completely surrounded by a moat, but the stone tower on its summit dating from 1150 has been completely demolished. There are two baileys, one on each side. Nearby is the remains of the moat theat surrounded to town fortifications.