London Loop Leg 14: Chigwell to Harold Wood

Weather: Sunny and Very Hot
Three consecutive Fridays and three legs of the LOOP, really starting to feel the end approaching now. Only one full leg to go but I intend to split it in two so that I can do the last section with Liz and some o my walking friends (and finish with a slap up meal!).

Old Chigwell (sounds like a Wodehouse character) is very attractive but soon you leave civilisation and head into the countryside and you really do feel like you are miles from anywhere with wheat, oats and barley in a golden carpet stretching to green hedgerows and field oaks in the distance.

A narrow path through the wheat allowed me to have a 'Gladiator' moment (no I didn't strip down to a leather thong and cover myself with oil) running my hands through the wheat as I walked watching skylarks sing and dance in the clear blue sky.

The busy Romford Road crossing leads to a badly signed and overgrown section with no obvious signage. Take the squeeze rather than the kissing gate and you will find a loop marker post just beyond the woodland edge.

If you go down to Hainault Woods today you are in for a big surprise. No kidding! In a clearing amongst the trees is a collection of wooden sculptures. All were carved with a variety of creatures - my favourite was the one with crinoids and ammonites.

A great stretch then follows as you trace the edge of the woodland with open space below (including one of the camps for the Olympic helpers). The grass here was tall and silver-gold moving in a blur thanks to a welcome gentle breeze. More confusing navigation follows. After the beacon follow the woodland round for about 100m until you see a marker post ignoring an opening in the tree line not far past the beacon.

Back amongst the fields of gold I came upon a cloud of at least a hundred sparrows feeding on the wheat rising as one as I approached to roost in the hawthorn hedges beside the path. As you climb up to the country park there are some more spectacular views followed by a long avenue of giant sequoia. I remember seeing the slice of sequoia in the Natural History museum when I was a kid. 1300 years old when it was cut down in the 19th Century with various dates written on it. These trees are much younger but very spectacular and worth a visit even if you don't do the rest of the walk.

The narrow path beside the garage in Havering-atte-Bower is muddy and crowded with tall stinging nettles reminding me again how glad I am that I didn't wear shorts! Emerging from the path into more open space I disturbed some rabbits that shot off in every direction for cover as I approached. Over to the right is a very ornate water tower looking like part of a French château. Some of the paths through the sweetcorn and sunflowers are a bit unclear but look for a fingerpost at the corner of the wood and head for that. Amongst the grass near the wood I saw my first wild snake - a grass snake I think - slithering away into the grass as I got close.

The final section following the trickle of water in its concrete channel is a bit dull and in places a bit smelly. and if you don't feel the need to be a completest hop on a bus to Harold Wood station and avoid this bit!
Apart from that this is a splendid walk and possibly one of the best sections of the LOOP.

London Loop Leg 13: Enfield Lock to Chigwell

Weather: Overcast becoming sunny and very warm.

Was worried about doing a walk during the Olympics as dire forecasts of travel congestion and crowds of people out in the east of London had been made. However it was just a traditional signal failure that delayed me at White City! After standing all the way from there to Liverpool Street I was more than warmed up ready for the walk.
From the start it really felt like summer for the first time this year with lots of flowers in the hedgerows and even in the concrete channel of the Turkey Brook. However the blackberries in the hedgerow spoke of the autumn to come so with the days getting shorter I kept up a rapid pace.
The short stretch of riverside walking made me think I should walk more of the Lea Valley as it was very pretty with lots of irises and numerous dragon and damselflies including a gorgeous indigo one that was so dark as to be almost black. Lots of fish in the water as well. Then across an open space filled with skylarks seemingly attached to the dome of the sky by lengths of elastic as they bounced up and down singing their tiny lungs out.

Some fantastic views over the huge reservoirs that provide London with much of its drinking water. Despite living in London for 25 years I still prefer the water from home out of the chalk downs, so hard that almost used to have a chalky head on it!

After passing a pretty cottage and pond (covered in a carpet of green algae) you come to a short stretch of busy B road with little or no pavement until you turn up into the drive  to the Scout headquarters. The track gets very muddy in places particularly around the vehicle barriers and other places where bikes and horses have been through churning things up into a thick brown stew.

More nice views hove into view on the stretch up to and beyond Queen Elizabeth's hunting lodge but so did a particularly heavy shower! Buckhurst Hill is a very pretty little village within London's sprawl and I had a pleasant chat with the owner of a neatly tended garden that looked more Sussex countryside than a London suburb.

Had to laugh as I approached the lake as not only was there a couple of toddlers chasing some bemused Brent geese but a dog chasing a large motorised lawn mower.

A dull and hot stretch of road walking follows, enlivened only by the size of some of some of the houses as you wind your way down into Chigwell ends with the the very pretty Chigwell station. Again this feels like a country station rather than part of the London Underground. The Village Deli, in the parade of shops nearby, is worth a visit if you are peckish and thirsty after the walk - very good salt-beef bagels!