Wintry Wood, The Lower Forest
Wintry Wood or the Lower Forest is part of Epping forest which is owned and managed by City of London Corporation. It sits in isolation from the main body of the forest to the North of Epping town, between Thornwood Village and Coopersale. This land is an important historical area which has seen a lot…
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Roding Valley Park
The Roding valley park is managed by Vision Redbridge. Although now surrounded by fast flowing traffic and modern infrastructure, at one time much of this land was within the Royal forest of Essex and subject to forest law. The river Roding runs through an ancient landscape peppered with areas of archeological priority and the Redbridge…
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Wanstead Park
Previously a part of the ancient Forest of Essex, Wanstead Park was once a deer park. The land was acquired by Henry VII in 1499 and In the grounds was Wanstead Hall, a fine 15th century hunting lodge where a young Henry VIII lived. This was later developed into Wanstead House, which was completed in…
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Chipping Ongar
This walk takes me to the far east of the Epping Forest District to Chipping Ongar, at the end of the Epping Ongar Steam Railway line. The more modern 14th century name of Ongar was thought to mean ‘Grass Land’, with the pretext Chipping coming from an old English word refering to ‘Market Place’. Ongar…
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Highams Park
Highams Park is a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. This was once an area of woodland pasture believed to have been cleared by the Saxons and there have been a number of manor houses here, the original of which was nearer to the river Lea. After this was demolished…
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Theydon Bois Wood And The Debden Estate
The area known today as the newly planted Theydon Bois Wood to the East of Theydon Bois and alongside the M11 is believed to have once been part of Epping forest. As far back as the 18th century this piece of land appears on maps to be divided into separate fields and was once referred…
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Roughtally’s Wood Nature Reserve
Once part of North Weald Airfield, Roughtalley’s Wood is a relatively small nature reserve in North Weald. Although it is possible to walk around in a fairly short time, this really is worth spending some time exploring in order to absorb the incredible wealth of species found here. There are a surprising number of…
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Roding Valley And Chigwell Meadows Nature Reserve
Roding Valley and Chigwell Meadows nature reserve straddle either side of the M11 and are in the centre of what was once the ancient parish of Chigwell which once stretched East to Hainault and West beyond Buckhurst Hill towards the river Ching, and included Lords bushes in Knighton Wood. Much of the area was…
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