Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Hainault Forest Country Park Walking Route
This walking route started at the entrance to Foxburrows Farm in Hainault Forest Country Park in Essex. I plotted this walking route from Hainault Forest where I joined the Three Forest Way following the London Loop to Chingford which was a mixture of ancient woodlands, forests, farmland, nature reserve and some village roads.
Standard walking clothes for today; walking trousers, walking boots, t-shirt and a waterproof jacket in my rucksack.
Three Forests Way in Hainault Forest – WalksAndWalking Essex Walks
From the bottom right hand corner of the second car park, opposite the entrance to Foxburrows Farm, I walked up the wide grassy path towards the beacon at the edge of Hainault Forest Country Park. Just behind the beacon was an entrance to the ancient woodland where I turned sharp left to join the Three Forests Way. I followed this pathway all the way down to the road passing straight ahead at the signpost towards the childrens play area and a second signpost towards Hainault.
When the path bent round to the left by the footbridge I continued to walk straight ahead where the path narrowed and was a little overgrown to then turn left at the road edge and then right through the gap, crossing the road and then turning right to walk uphill towards Chigwell Row. At the kissing gate entrance to the Chigwell Row Wood local nature reserve I followed the main pathway into the wood to join the London Loop signposts.
After turning right in the wood by the London Loop signpost I exited Chigwell ROw Wood to turn right and walk straight up by the tennis courts to reach a kissing gate by the roadside. I then turned left to walk down the road to reach the next set of London Loop signposts where I turned right into Chapel Lane crossing 4 stiles to then reach the Water Works where I turned right to follow the metal green fencing around the perimeter of the water works to a gap in the hedge on my left hand side signposted the London Loop.
I then walked diagonally across the farmland following the very clear London Loop signposts on this section of the Three Forests Way to eventually reach the roadside where I turned right to walk up a short distance to the turn left into some wasteland to then reach the A113 where I crossed over the road turning left and then right into Roding Lane. Walking carefully I admired the large and extremely expensive homes to then turn right at the t-junction to cross over the M25 turning right into the entrance of the David Lloyd centre.
At the London Loop signpost I turned right into the Roding Valley Meadows Nature Reserve following the clear pathways around to a gate signposted the London Loop which then led me close to the shallow river. I couldn’t resist the urge to take a short cut and cross the river at the first opportunity to then walk around the left hand side of the lake and around the pathway to then turn left at the next London Loop signpost to then enter residential housing.
Continuing straight ahead I followed the London Loop signposts to turn left at the small childrens play area which sits just under the London Underground tube train lines. I continued along the road until its end where I turned right to cross over the train tracks to then continuing to follow the London Loop signposts across the fields and 3 kissing gates. Leaving the fields of Hill Farm through a narrow pathway by housing I turned right to walk up North End where I then turned left to walk up to the Buckhurst Hill village sign to cross straight over the road to enter the cricket pitch where I walked around the left hand side to then turn left into the Powells Forest to reach the road where I crossed over to the right hand side of the Warren Wood pub to then walk downhill to the road.
At the roadside edge I turned left to walk along the wide grassy path to then join the road by the Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge which is currently being renovated to walk downhill and into Chingford where I only had to wait a few minutes for a bus home! This walking route took me just under 3 hours and covered about 9 miles.
Click here for all of the photographs of this Hainault Forest Walking Route
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