London LOOP Section 18 – Enfield Lock to Chingford 20/2/11

Starting and finishing this section of the Loop presents the usual problem regarding transport options. We decide to park the car at Chingford and catch a bus to Enfield Lock. The grand plan is to take the 313 to Ponders End Lane and then catch a 491 to Preston Gardens. Being walkers rather than waiters we decide to shorten the bus journey by travelling on foot down Station Road and Kings Head Hill.

This part of the plan goes well. The next section proves less successful. Alighting near Ponders End at the junction of the A110 and A1055 we realise we have got off too early. Thinking to make the best of it we think we might follow the Lea and Stort Navigation to Enfield Lock. This however is not to be, since the industrial estate on the A1055 prevents access.

Nonetheless we are walkers and we make the most of the sunny day enjoying the delights of the scenery around us. Warehouses and thundering traffic offer little by way of enlightenment. Eventually we reach Brimsdown Railway Station and take the quieter route along Brimsdown Avenue to Enfield. London Suburbia is rarely a favourite scenic walk for me, but it is always enlightening to see how others live, for a while at least. Eventually we cross Albany Park and join the last entrails of Section 17 of the Loop, crossing over the railway footbridge and along the north side of Turkey Brook before arriving at Enfield Lock.

The river Lee-Enfield Lock

Enfield Lock

Enfield Lock is an interesting location in that it offers a window into a glorious past, surrounded by a rather dismal present. The canal lock here is endowed with a beautiful old lock keepers cottage, which is sadly boarded up and neglected. Facing this charming building is an estate of uninspiring late 20th Century semis. Immediately behind the lock used to be one of Britain’s premier producers of armaments – The Royal Small Arms Factory. This site may be looked upon with nostalgia by some, whilst others may applaud its demise, it being responsible for some 17 million rifles which were used in wars between 1895 and 1957.

Behind the lock is a derelict pub, doubtless a former watering hole for workers in the factory which was finally closed in the 1980s. Those interested in a detour might wish to walk around Enfield Island Village, a pleasant modern housing development, which incorporates some of the old Victorian factory buildings. For our part we elect to get on with the job in hand, walking The Loop.

Derelict pub

As directed by the Loop creators we follow the canal tow path for a short distance, observing the collection of water boats across the river outside the boat yard. Having been a one-time narrowboat owner I am always interested in canal boats. Unlike marinas on the coast every canal boat has its own individual characteristics, be they narrowboats, cruisers or what can reasonably be called water-mongrels. Water mongrels include homemade boats, conversions of old hulls by the addition of strange box-like superstructures or things that are barely recognisable as boats at all.

Many of the narrowboats are the result of a pension lump-sum payment, with their owners using them for a weekend retreat, or even living aboard for much or all of the year. Many have all the trappings of a bygone canal age including round port-hole windows, brass ventilator mushrooms and maybe roses and castles artwork. However, don’t be fooled by this apparent antiquity, as few are more than 30 years old. Nonetheless, these and the other mixed bag of vessels to be found on British canals are a source of great interest to canal walkers everywhere.

We leave the Lee Navigation behind us and cross to the banks of the River Lee itself, where a number of information boards educate the reader regarding the military associations of the area and the creation of the King George VI Reservoir that is fed by the river here.

King George VI Reservoir pump house in the background

Beyond the river we enter Sewardstone Marsh Nature Reserve. This is a very pleasant area, well provided with tarmac paths bordered by hedges, ditches and grass verges rich in wildlife from spring through to late summer. This area is part of the Lee Valley Regional Park and is linked to an area to the north called the Gunpowder Park, on the site of the former Royal Ordnance Factory testing facility.

From the top – the nature reserve, Horse radish, Comfrey, Gate Keeper butterfly, Purple Loosestrife, White Dead – nettle, Burdock, yellow Ragwort and Teasle.

Beyond the nature reserve the path comes to the busy A112. This short stretch of busy road is soon crossed, however an awkward obstacle greets us on the opposite side. The stile into the field is broken, with one of the planks completely missing. Having been a sufferer of sciatica some 8 months earlier, my mobility is limited. Traversing the wire fence without the assistance of the top plank proves challenging. I’ll wear my reinforced leather pants next time I pass this way. Future users of this route will be pleased to know I reported the demise of this stile to the London Loop website who assured me that the local authority would fix it. I am later advised by the Loop manager that this small part of the Loop is outside of London and I have to contact Essex County Council to get it repaired. An interesting bit of politics.

Having negotiated the stile we are bewildered by the nature of the field ahead of us. The field has a fairly ordinary looking mown sward of grass, but the top end of it is cordoned off with Heras fencing, although there is a gap for us to pass through. As we enter the enclosure we can’t help but feel this is an ostrich or kangaroo pen. Perhaps they have all escaped through the gap? The thought of a herd of these creatures running or bounding around the countryside hereabouts is a tad unnerving. It then dawns on us that this must be the site of a regular car boot sale.

Beyond the ‘ostrich/kangaroo enclosure’ we enter real countryside, as we follow a track that climbs up into the Sewardstone Hills towards Epping Forest. As the track rises, the view across the Lee Valley becomes increasingly impressive. The valley floor is dominated by two enormous reservoirs, the King George VI we passed earlier in our walk and the later William Girling Reservoir, further downstream.

More recent land use changes include the vast expanse of commercial buildings serving the needs of London and beyond. Gazing out across the valley one feels like the Hobbits Frodo and Sam looking down on Mordor for the first time. The contrast with our immediate countryside is striking.

We press on up the hill and are soon directed through a small belt of trees, to emerge into a pleasant meadow. Just the place to picnic and admire even more of the view across the valley.

However, with time pressing we continue up through the field and negotiate a further stile before crossing a series of farm tracks and meadow areas before coming out onto Dawes Hill and Bury Road. Off to the left is a lovely long green lane called Green Lane, a bygone right of way running northwards and downhill. It is a lovely, almost seductive lane down which to freewheel on a bicycle.

We are now in the western margins of Epping Forest – a predominantly woodland area of some 6,000 acres. Sewardstone Green, as this area is known, includes much of the road we must walk along to get to Gilwell and eventually to our destination at Chingford. Walking this road can be a little daunting as traffic feels the need to take advantage of the level ground, having just topped the Dawes Hill incline. We opt to walk along the extensive verge, largely dominated by trees. Unfortunately the ground here is poorly drained presenting lots of open water in ditches.

It is not too far along Bury Road before I am reunited with a mythical place from my childhood. I grew up in South Yorkshire, spending many a weekend at a scout camp called Thorpe Hesley Woods. However, this was a mere satellite compared to the centre of the scouting universe – Gilwell. At countless campfires we would sing “Back to Gilwell, happy land. I’m going to get my ticket if I can”. I never did get my ticket to Gilwell (whatever a ticket is). Nearly 50 years later though I am about to tread on Gilwell’s hallowed turf.

The walk up the drive to Gilwell Park quite impressive. Quieter than Bury Road, it is long and straight. As we enter the grounds of Gilwell the LOOP turns off left. However, it would be irreverent not to pause for a while and gaze on this mythical place of my youth. I half expected Baden-Powell himself to come striding past in broad brimmed hat and shorts. Failing this, perhaps some other demi-god of scouting. Alas the place appears deserted. I suppose in February even hardy scouts prefer to stay indoors. We trespass a little, but the fear of having my boyhood dreams shattered by some official barking at me, we return to the car park and enjoy a Gilwell lunch.

February can be a little chilly to sit for any length of time. It is therefore not long before we are up and walking again. However, for the next mile or so walking gives way to slipping as we negotiate one of the muddiest sections we are likely to encounter on the LOOP. This is Gilwell Lane, a former drove road which has over the years turned into a hollow way as it turns from the ridge downhill towards the Lea Valley. Doubtless it was well trod by forest folk going about their business down in the valley or valley folk heading into the forest to exercise their commoners rights of collecting wood or grazing their livestock.

Gilwell

However, the only livestock passing this way today are a phalanx of venture scouts hiking back to Gilwell and two ladies with a small dog. Hiking up Gilwell Lane must provide a real sting in the tail for the young men thinking the end of their walk is in sight. The small dog looks as though it can’t wait to get home to a nice clean carpet. Doubtless thousands of scouting boots have passed this way over the years, suppressing any growth of vegetation on this path, churning the soil to a Somme-like mire and lowering the land surface by many inches. Undaunted we slither down the hill, miraculously staying on our feet until we find the left turn into Yates Meadow.

Out into open ground the walking improves as we make our way downhill through Yates Meadow, a mix of grassland and scrub. The small dog is much happier here and is to be seen scurrying back and forth in search of rabbit and other smells that make a dog’s existence so enjoyable. As we get to the bottom of the hill a small stream picks its way along the bottom of the valley. Here we are presented with a scene reminiscent of an Edwardian drama. A young couple sit having a picnic, perched upon a tartan blanket and indulging in light conversation. They have a wicker hamper and a single ‘sit-up-and-beg’ bicycle. Straw boaters would have finished the scene of perfectly. Discovering this kind of eccentric English behaviour on a crisp February afternoon in Epping Forest is the essence of what we love about walking in the British Isles.

Up the other side of the valley we enter Hawk Wood. This is a lovely dense-canopied woodland, dominated by mature oaks and contorted hornbeam pollards. The impressive size of the tree trunks, the absence of lower branches and the limited shrub layer gives a space not unlike that found in a large cathedral. At the top of the hill the LOOP turns left.

However, Ken Hoy, in his highly informative book – Getting to Know Epping Forest, advises visitors to follow the ridge to the right of Hawk Wood. This detour of perhaps a mile will take walkers to the best-known hill in Epping Forest – Pole Hill.
Here the views across the Lea valley and south as far as central London are the most impressive in Epping Forest. On a clear day it is possible to pick out St Paul’s Cathedral. An obelisk was erected here in 1824 as the ‘North’ sighting point for the Greenwich Observatory telescope. Pole Hill bestrides the line separating the Western and Eastern Hemispheres, the Greenwich Meridian.

I took the opportunity to pay this lovely view a visit some months later and have to agree with Ken’s opinion. In fact I see no reason why Loop walkers shouldn’t change the official route to suit their needs and make the short pilgrimage to this point. From here you don’t need to retrace your steps back to Hawk Wood, but can take the path downhill between the golf course and the houses, to get to Chingford Plain. Actually a much nicer walk, avoiding the road that the recommended route follows.

On this occasion however we turn left at Hawk Wood, with the golf course to our right. Here you can see small red clad figures wandering the fairways and greens. The club demands that all members wear red, as with stick in hand, they pursue the little white ball and beat it to oblivion.

Taking this route we pass a most incongruous site, what appears to be a coniferous tree. However, something is not quite right about it. In fact it is an attempt to disguise one of the many telecommunications masts that have recently invaded these shores. Whilst I have to applaud the good intent behind such disguising of eye sores, to my eye an oversized artificial Christmas tree is less attractive than a telecoms tower. The person responsible for its design has much to learn from nature when it comes to aesthetics.

Shortly after our brush with the sylvan alien we are reacquainted with Bury Road coming down to Chingford Plain from Gilwell Park. Crossing this we turn right and negotiate the well used horse track to Chingford, with the noise of passing traffic for company. I do hope the managers of the LOOP reconsider the route here in favour of the one suggested earlier.

As Chingford Plain comes into view we are treated to the sort of spectacle Henry VIII might have enjoyed, had he lived to use the hunting lodge he built here (known today as Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge). You can well image the excitement as large numbers of deer were chased through then enormous Epping Forest, to this place of carnage, where they would have been slaughtered by the monarch and the royal court, both for entertainment and as a source of meat. Today the only visible animal life is the ubiquitous dogs and horses that populate the London Outer Orbital Path.

Shortly we are reunited with our car, another section of our walking project completed.