Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Gunpowder Park Walking Route

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Gunpowder Park Walking Route

Gunpowder Park is a new country park in Essex and part of the Lee Valley Park near Waltham Abbey just off Sewardstone Road. It’s a large conservation area with plenty of wildlife and well maintained gravel pathways as well as a myriad of tracks you can follow across the fields. No maps required for this walking route as everything is so well signposted and the circular walking route around the park only takes a leisurely hour making it a leisurely Essex walk.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Gunpowder Park Walking Route

Gunpowder Park comprises of several adjoining fields. Cobs Fields and the Shock Wave Galleries rise between the wildflower meadows that constantly change colour through the seasons. Bands of native trees and shrubs dissect the meadows mimicking shock waves which fan out from the centre of the “explosion” near the park centre. The Energy Fields are signposted to the Cob Fields viewpoint on the Meridian Line at the top of the hill where you can enjoy the views. For a more rural ramble you can continue on the grassy field margins along the public footpath between the arable fields.

Cob Meadow Blast Mound Plateau is a popular nesting place for skylarks and their spiralling songs fill the air in the spring and summer. Osier Marsh The Salix is a mysterious wet woodland and important wildlife refuge. Boardwalks and paths guide you through a tangled jungle of birch and willow carpeted with lichens and mosses.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Gunpowder Park Walking Route

 

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Waltham Abbey to Epping Walking Route

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Waltham Abbey to Epping Walking Route

This is a great 9 mile walking route from Waltham Cross to Waltham Abbey Church, skirting round Lee Valley Park, along the green lanes of Essex, through Epping Forest and down to Epping town centre.

I recently posted an Essex walk in Waltham Abbey and then posted it on the Walks And Walking twitter (all new followers kindly accepted!).@NickPLittlewood retweeted the post and sent me a Waltham Abbey walking route to Epping from a recently released 1930’s Essex Rambling Guide. I retraced the walk on my Ordnance Survey map and here is my 2012 version of this meandering and historic Essex walking route.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Waltham Abbey to Epping along the Essex Ramblers 1930s Walking Route

As it was quite drizzly today I wrapped up warm in my usual walking clothes and walking boots but left my gaiters at home as I didn’t think that the ground was going to be too muddy. I got dropped off at the car park at Waltham Abbey Church where I then walked down to wards the church on my left and the church centre on my right. I turned right just after the centre and crossed over the footbridge and underneath the B194 into the Cornmill Meadows Dragonfly Sanctury. At the kissing gate I headed diagonally along the track to Cornmill Stream where I then turned left and walked alongside the stream on my right hand side. At the footbridge I turned right and then forked to the left by the conifer trees and walked straight ahead with the trees on my right hand side following them all the way round turning left at the big yellow signpost up to a kissing gate and into Lee Valley Park and open fields.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Waltham Abbey to Epping Walking Route – Cornmill Meadows

At the next signpost I turned left and then right diagonally across the open fields along the clear track to a signpost for Hooks Marsh where I then turned right at the big yellow signpost at the River Lee Country Park and continued my walk until I reached a metal gate. At the lane I turned right and walked up to the B194 road where I then turned left and followed the road all the way round until I reached a bridleway signpost on my right and then I kept right to join the Puck Lane Track which I then walked around to the left where I continued walking until I could see Lake John on my right hand side and into some open space at Aimes Green.

I then walked along this pathway until I reached the signpost and notice board signalling that I was about to enter Epping Forest. I then turned left up this track to then join a wide track that steadily climbed uphill. I continued walking along this wide path until it forked so I kept to the left keeping a steady path through the middle of this small woodland area that was fenced off either side to now start to follow the Epping Forest Countrycare signposts continuing a steady climb uphill. I then continued walking along this wide path until I reached the bridleway signpost where I turned left and walked downhill to then reach a small road by beautiful houses which led me out to the main road and roundabout where I turned right into Bumbles Green.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Waltham Abbey to Epping Walking Route – Muddy Tracks

Continuing my walk along the road I then reached the King Harolds head pub and a signpost taking me to the right and into farmland where I then started to follow the Stort Valley Way all the way along the field edge, ignoring the first footbridge on my right to then turn right after the next two footbridges. I continued to follow the Stort Valley Way signposts where I then turned right into a very small woodland and then left down a path and into open space with a signpost for the Forest Way and Stort Valley Way. I then walked along Epping Long Green until I reached a gate by the pub where I then crossed the road and turned left around the duck pond and then right at the signpost keeping right and along the track to the right. I then kept right at the big yellow signpost and through a gate and over a footbridge keeping to the right of the hedgerow to another footbridge where I turned right now walking straight across the field to the road.

 

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Waltham Abbey to Epping Walking Route – Epping Long Green

I crossed over the road by the signpost and through the gate to Bishops Walk and the grounds of the church. Walking round to the right hand side of the church to an ornamental gate I then walked through and down a track following it all the way down to a stile by the road where I then crossed over and turned left by the signpost to the walk diagonally across the field that didn’t seem to have an obvious path to the corner of the B181 road. I then walked all the way down this road and passed the sign for Epping to turn right at the old fashioned black and white signpost for Epping Town and London.I then turned right and then left to join the slip road at Hemnall Street walking all the way along until it reached Station Road where I turned left and walked down to Epping Station.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Waltham Abbey Lee Valley Walking Route

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Waltham Abbey Lee Valley Walking Route

Waltham Abbey is absolutely steeped in history with most of it surrounding Waltham Abbey Church, which was a surviving Norman church from the abbey dissolved by King Henry VIII. There are plenty of highlights along this leisurely Essex walk which includes the Royal Gunpowder Mills, plenty of rural countryside walking routes and the popular Lee Valley Regional Park.

Just the standard walking clothes and you can always do with a decent pair of walking boots but other than that pack a good walking jacket in your rucksack and you are good to go!

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Waltham Abbey Church

We parked at Cornmill Meadows car park and then walked to the gravel path at the signpost where we then walked straight ahead through the woodland to join the stream at Cornmill. At Cornmill stream we turned right so that the stream was on our left hand side as we followed it down to the footbridge where we then turned right to then walk next to the Royal Gunpowder Mills fence.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Royal Gunpowder Mills Ruins

With the Royal Gunpowder Mills fence to our left hand side we continued our walk until we reached the cross field pathway to the next woodland area, Alder Forest, where we then followed the field edge track with the small stream on our left hand side which was signposted to Hook Marsh.

We then turned left on to Fishers Green Lane and on to a car park with a notice board where we carried straight on to cross over two footbridges across streams to a kissing gate signposted on the right hand side to Ware. We followed the gravel track to the picnic area next to Seventy Acres Lake on our left hand side in the Lee Valley Regional Park.

We continued walking along the gravel track until we reached a signpost for Lee Valley Park farms and Nazeing to then cross the footbridge where we then turned left where we then passed Bittern Watchpoint where we then reached the access road to the electricity sub-station. We then continued our walking route along the riverside path to a tarmaced road.

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks – Lee Valley Regional Park

We then turned right and then left through the kissing gate and contiued to walk straight ahead where we passed a bird watching station on our left which overlooks the marshland. At the entrance to the Lee Valley Sailing Club we walked over two stiles to our right hand side and then walked along the edge of the field with the Lee Valley Sailing Club on our left hand side.

We continued along this pathway as it started to bear right climbing slighlty upwards until we reached the next stile at the top where we then followed the signpost to Clayton Hill. At the kissing gate we then crossed over the wooden footbridge to Coleman’s Shaw where we then turned right and onto the B194 road which we then walked downhill to a T-junction.

We then turned left at the Coach and Horses Pub crossing over the road to Waltham Road and then uphill passing Denver Lodge Farm on our right hand side to then cross a stile on our right following the edge of the field track where we then reached Galleyhill Wood. We then crossed the next stile and continued our walk with the woodland on our right hand side to a break in the trees which we then walked through turning right at the path crossing to join a wide grassy green lane path to Aimes Green.

Although quite leisurely we were now starting to feel the benefit of this walking route (What I really mean is starting to feel quite tired!) and we were qwuite pleased to be in the last short section of this walk. We then turned right just after Aimes green before turning left at the houses and on to Claygate Lane and out by Eagle Lodge where we then crossed over the Crooked Mile Road to a meadow. We then turned left through the kissing gate and back to the car park some 3 hours and just over 7 miles later.