Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Epping Forest Jacks Hill Walking Route

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Epping Forest Jacks Hill Walking Route

This Essex walk in Epping Forest started in Jacks Hill car park near Theydon Bois walking down to Great Monk Wood before heading back up to Debden Green and the Deer Sanctuary finishing off at Ambresbury Banks Fort then back to Jacks Hill car park.

When I was planning this walking route I didn’t expect it to be quite so demanding but there was a lot of up and down climbs through Epping Forest and with Tedi in the child carrier it felt a lot tougher than it should have been. There was heavy rain the previous day and I should have worn my Scarpa walking boots but with the recent prolonged spell of dry weather I thought my Salomon walking boots would have been OK but there were a few slippery patches, especially off the main path tracks through the forest.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Epping Forest Jacks Hill Walking Route Map

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Epping Forest Jacks Hill Walking Route – Jacks Hill Car Park

From Jacks Hill car park I walked southwards in to Epping Forest on the wide gravel track turning right down to Furze Ground and Tippa Brook. I then walked down to the A121 at Goldings Hill and Broadstrood car park crossing over the road to walk along the wide grassy path down to Great Monk Wood walking right and left along the Green Ride to a junction of tracks where I turned left on to Clay Ride down to Blackweir Hill. I then continued my walk down to Baldwins Pond and Loughton Brook to then walk up to the track running along the outskirts of Loughton by house no. 2 turning left along Baldwins Hill road passed the houses back to the field with the Forester Arms ahead to the left hand side.

I then walked up a path to a seat and down to the edge of the forest keeping right along the track back to Baldwins Hill and house no. 47 opposite turning left along Baldwins Hill to the A121 road where I then walked left passed Goldings Hill Pond on my left hand side where I saw a turtle enjoying the sunshine.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Epping Forest Jacks Hill Walking Route – Turtle At Goldings Hill Ponds

I then walked right at house no. 2 on to a Gregsons Ride along the edge of the forest turning left to the road at Debden Green turning right passed The Mount keeping left just after Debden Green Road turning left at the end to Debden Lane turning left at Red Acres on to the bridleway in to Birch Wood. I continued to follow this track through the right hand side of the woodland to the Deer Sanctuary fence where I saw some Bucks fairly close by with the Does further away.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Epping Forest Jacks Hill Walking Route – Bucks At The Deer Sanctuary

I walked along this track to Birch Hall Farm following the track as it turns in to a drive to West Lodge and the B172 road turning right in to Theydon Bois passing Birch Hall on my right hand side and Sixteen String Jack Inn on my left hand side. I walked along this road passed the last house to an open space taking the middle path back in to the forest across the field to the edge of the forest walking right and then left to cross a footbridge over Genesis Slade keeping to the feint path to the right hand side of the forest with the boundaries of the house gardens on my right hand side climbing up to a fence on my right.

I then continued my walk straight ahead passed the edge of the golf course on my right hand side crossing a bridge and continuing along the wide path turning left at the next junction along the wide gravel track that undulated before passing Ambresbury Banks Fort on my right hand side keeping straight ahead back to the B172 and Jacks Hill opposite taking me 2.5 hours to cover 7 miles.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Epping Forest Jacks Hill Walking Route – Dad, You’re Going The Wrong Way Again!

 

Walks And Walking in Essex – Epping Forest

Walks And Walking in Essex – Epping Forest

Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland that stretches from Wanstead in East London to just below Harlow in Essex. Epping Forest is a former royal forest originally reserved as a royal hunting ground. Epping Forest offers the perfect landscape for walks with walking routes for all ages and abilities with plenty of wide grassy paths and well maintained gravel pathways. For the more adventurous there are a myriad of cut throughs into the denser woodland and if you like long distance paths then there is The Forest Way, Three Forests Way and sections of the London Loop.

Walks And Walking in Essex - Epping Forest - Connaught Water - The Centenary Walk

Epping Forest sits on top of a ridge between two valleys; Lea Valley and Roding Valley and mainly contains grassland, woodland, forestry, heath lands, rivers, ponds and bogs. A result of glaciations its elevation and thin gravely soil made it unsuitable for agriculture although there is plenty of farmland in use today. There are also small pockets of long horn grazing cattle, fallow deer and the smaller muntjac deer still evident.

Epping Forest walks can be accessed from the main Centenary Walk from Wanstead to Epping as well as from Chingford, Gilwell Park, High Beach, Upshire, Theydon Bois, Loughton and various other towns and villages with good parking, rail and bus routes.

Most Epping Forest walks are fairly short, taking only an hour or so to complete and more suitable for the family rather than the purposeful and experienced trekker. A good pair of walking boots is always recommended but trainers, sandals or shoes are fine if you stick to the main pathways. As with all ancient woodlands you will encounter some mud along the way and sometimes the grass and brambles can be overgrown so a walking stick or walking poles are always handy to move the stinging nettles out of harm’s way.

Although the visual historical references for Epping Forest are Queen Elizabeth I’s hunting lodge and Queen Victoria’s Centenary Walk its history dates back much further than that with the remains of the Roman settlement at Loughton Camp and the Iron Age Hill Fort at Ambresbury Banks. Queen Victoria made a visit to Epping Forest when re-opening it to the general public riding in an open carriage from Connaught Water along Fairmead Bottom to High Beach.

For many of the towns and villages situated near to Epping Forest it gave them the opportunity to graze their animals and a good source of fuel to generate important revenues for the local inhabitants. Whilst Epping Forest has never been cultivated or restricted it has always been managed by man throughout its one thousand year history. Over the last one hundred years or so Epping Forest’s open grassy areas have declined due to the lack of grazing and, as such, has become more dense, cutting off the natural sun light below the trees that facilitated the growth of many plant and floral species that have now become extremely rare or even extinct.

For more information about Epping Forest there is the Epping Forest Conservation Centre, a central location for most walks and walking routes with trails leading you through ancient landscapes of coppiced and pollarded trees all in close proximity to cafes, pubs and transport networks.

Walks And Walking – Epping Forest Ambresbury Banks Fort Walking Route

Walks And Walking – Epping Forest Ambresbury Banks Fort Walking Route

This is a very easy going circular Essex walking route around Epping Forest. From High Beach we headed along The Forest Way up to the outskirts of Copthall Green and then across to Ambresbury Banks Fort to follow the Green Ride back down to the Centenary Way and back to High Beach.

The weather was supposed to be hot today but was looking overcast when we left at 8am so packed my waterproof jacket in the child carrier and laced up my walking boots to set off walking from High Beach opposite the Epping Forest Centre to join The Forest Way path by the small car park just to the right of the tea hut.

The North Face Jannu II GTX Technical Hiking Boot ready for action in Epping Forest

As this is my 50th article on this site I thought I would take a photograph on my favourite walking boots before I put them on so please click this link to read more about these The North Face Boots

We walked along The Forest Way to cross a road and rejoin the path on the other side to wind gently to the next road and signpost for Hatfield Forest on The Forest Way. We then crossed the road to join Woodredon Farm Lane and headed down passed Woodredon House and Farm at the cattle grid. Where the path turns left to the M25 we turned right to now leave The Forest Way at the signpost with a blue marker. We then walked down this track to a signpost with a yellow marker where we then turned left to follow the field around to a small wooden footbridge… covered by nettles.

Have decided on shorts for today I got stung quite badly which taught me a valuable lesson; always where gaiters! We then walked through the Crown Hill Storage units and on to the road where we turned right to walk uphill passed the entrance for The Warren before turning left at the T-juntion and on to the High Road to turn left passed the Ambresbury Banks bus stop to find a log across the road on our right blocking a path down to Ambresbury Banks Fort.

Original map of Ambresbury Banks Fort in Epping Forest Essex

We then found a sign for the fort which showed the original layout of the fort. We then crossed straight through the fort to find the wide and very distinct Green Ride pathway which we were to follow for most of the rest of the walk until we reached the road which we crossed to rejoin the Green Ride and a sign for Jack’s Hill at The Ditches. We continued down the wide path until we reach a very distinct turning on our right where the track naturally bends. We followed this path until a steep uphill climb led us to the road and car park at Golding’s Hill straight over to continue along the wide path of the Green Ride which bends up and down through beautfiful green ferns with a clear blue sky now above us.

The ferns in Epping Forest Essex on the Green Ride by Great Monk Wood

We then came to a wide turning on our right and then another to a clearing in the forest. We then turned right at the bottom of the clearing and on to the Centenary Walk which has now become obliterated by mountain bikers who enjoy the steep banks on the outskirts of Loughton Camp. On our left we made out the sign for Loughton Camp but this was off our route so we continued along the myriad of pathways just about maintaining the general direction to then cross the Epping New Road. We then crossed the road and up through the forest opposite to a short steep climb in a small clearing. This isn’t a pathway but has been worn away by walkers as an easiy route up to the forest pathway crossing. We carried straight onwards to some bivouaks made from the trees that have been there for years. We followed this pathway to a wooden fence behind the Epping Forest Centre.

We followed this pathway passed some wodden benches to a bank which we climb and turned right to come out by the Epping Forest Centre car park to turn left and back to where we had parked the car after just under 3 hours and about 8 miles, legs still stinging from the nettles.

For more photographs of this walk please visit: Ambresbury Banks Fort