42km Epping Forest Gravel
Epping Forest Gravel trail
Ride overview
London can be a challenging place to live and there are times when you just want to get out to see hills, fields and trees and enjoy something that is not concrete made. Epping Forest, with its maze of cycle-friendly tracks and trails through deep woods, is the perfect panacea for those thirsting for an adventure with a country feel. On this route there are no rubbish-filled alleyways and there is no urban weirdness.
The ingredients for a splendid leaf-splashed ride;
Trees in their millions
Richly green, autumn coloured or winter stark
A few punchy little hills on which to ride up and whizz down
A little mud or dust, some real gravel tracks weaving through the trunks of trees
A great cafe and a bit of riding across the watery world of Europe’s largest urban wetland.
If you don’t like sharing your paths and peace, and you prefer to have the forest to yourself, avoid popular weekends when the forces of horses, dogs, joggers and ambling ramblers are about. Ride on dull days, wet days, any day when others prefer to stay at home.
Ride Practicalities
DISTANCE: 42km TOTAL ASCENT: 384m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: Off-road tracks, some single-track others wide and firm under tyre. Quiet roads and cycle lanes in Walthamstow. One busy section across Lea Bridge, where you could use the footpath. In winter some of the paths are muddy, especially at Pole Hill, although within the actual forest the tracks are well-drained and in good condition. RECOMMENDED CAFÈS/PUBS/: Chingford; Butler’s Retreat Café, The Royal Forest (up-scale gastro pub), Tottenham; The Ferry Boat Inn, NEARBY MAINLINE TRAIN SERVICES: Walthamstow (Overground; Weaver Line) PLACES TO VISIT; Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge, Epping Forest Visitor Centre LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: The Lea and Lee
Ride Notes
The route begins at Walthamstow Central (on the Weaver Overground Line) and within a couple of kilometres you’re riding past London’s oldest house and into the woods. A maze of paths and tracks cut through the trees which deaden the droning noise of the nearby North Circular. The overlying mud on these paths after rain can become challengingly slippery, which for ex-cyclocross riders provides an extra layer of fun, but for those who prefer not to slither about, ride on drier days when the trails are fast and firm.
Beech in Epping Forest
After eight kilometres of woods and commons, you enter the forest proper. The track becomes wide and with a firm base, which even in the depths of winter rides well. Beeches, oaks and hornbeam surround you with their pollarded trunks. The air is richly oxygenated, the canopies densely green, mulit-coloured or starkly grey like elephant’s skin, depending on the season. There is the absolute serenity of the forest too, unless you are crossing some of the busy roads which traverse the woodlands. There are deer sometimes seen in the shadows of the trees but no wild boar since they were hunted to extinction back in Saxon times.
Epping forest in Autumn
There’s little to stop for other than to soak up the sylvan delights of woodland. After city noise, it is worth just stopping and let the silence cover and calm you. After 21km, you arrive at High Beach, where there’s a cafe of moderate quality and the King’s Oak pub. However, if you’ve the energy, ride on for there’s better food and drink after a further six kilometres.
Beside Queen’ Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge, where it is claimed Queen Elizabeth 1 used to rest after a hunt, you’ll find the Butler’s Retreat, a recommended café selling coffee, cake, lunch and beer. If you’re after something plusher, try the gastro-pub 50m down the road and of local reknowned, The Royal Forest.
The route continues through more trees, past Chingford Golf course, to Pole Hill. Here there’s an obelisk marking the original Greenwich Meridian and a plaque notes that T.E. Lawrence once owned this piece of land. It tells how he wanted to build a house on the hill in which he hoped to write the ‘Seven Pillars of Wisdom’. However, the house was never built and he donated the land to the City of London. The ride off the hill is very steep and muddy after rain.
Victorian Engine House, Walthamstow Wetlands
Out of the forest, the route heads down into the Lea valley. It’s a watery world of lakes, rivers and huge reservoirs (which supply over 10 per cent of London’s water). After Tottenham Marshes you ride past The Ferry Inn, a lively riverside pub. The closing kilometres take you across the very special Walthamstow Marshes, the largest urban wetland in Europe. It is an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance). You may see some of the resident peregrine falcons and you’ll not miss the Victorian engine houses such as the Grade II listed Coppermill Tower. Nature rich. Water and sky. London seems very far away.
A few more turns of the wheels see you back in Walthamstow.
All the details given on this route are given in good faith. However, situations on the ground can change, so if you know of any access issues, closures, or have any thoughts and feedback on the route, please include them in the comments section below.
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