We were blessed with great weather yesterday for our September walk, no surprise really as 'heather weather' as it's now known is ordered and delivered frequently. Due to holidays - Chris in Turkey, Gemma in Cornwall and Paula just finishing off her China Wall walk and other commitments, we were a small but select group which meant that our newest recruit Sharon was able to ease in and get to know members fairly easily.
In fact that opportunity started right away as poor Teresa got delayed and rather than waste time chatting only, we moved from S Woodford station to Coffee Republic were Lina and the girls looked after us really well, introduced the local ladies so hopefully more business coming their way now. Always good to support local business.
As a result of coffee, we didn't get started till 10.30 as opposed to 9.30 but the good side f that was that by the time we got up to the Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge, the pub was open for cool drinks and a loo stop - see how it all works out.
We got to this point by walking through Epping Forest following the Centenry Walk which takes you by the Highams Park Lake.
Here you can see the small but select group, minus me (the photographer) enjoying the wildlife and the warm day.
It takes about 45 mins to get to this point from S Woodford and then it was roughly same again up to the Hunting Lodge where we had a couple more shots.
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| Geraldine holds court with Vanessa and Teresa |
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| (left to right) Geraldine, Teresa, Heather and Vanessa. |
From the Hunting Lodge we followed the London Loop and although we've done much of this before, we did take a few detours so having experienced this bit on one of the Athena Angels Training walks, I wanted to share it was the EEG (East End Girls). It's very lovely taking you up though open grassland edged with forest, the across the main road out to the M25 and up through the forest to the cricket pitch just off the main road to Loughton.
From here you are in a built up area and I know a number of routes to get to the same place but none as pretty as this one which brings you by cottages many decked with wonderful window boxes and pots still ablaze with colour. Then when you wonder where you're going next your taken into what seems like someone's back yard and down a narrow path which widens into a lane with the back garden of houses on one side and open countryside on the other.
The hedges at the moment are covered in hawthorn and wild rose bushes laden with red berries and even some holly berries. I was brought up to believe that this was a sign of a harsh winter and if the last two years are anything to go by this could indeed be true.
Here's an example of what I mean.
On this part of the walk you skirt a wildlife area where a wonderful sculptured gate provides one of the access points. I was introduced to this by a friend a few years ago and it's one of those wonderful assets to the area that only few probably know of. Then further on you, depending on what route you take, you can pass through an other area of wildlife meadows at the back of the David Lloyd Sports Centre which leads down to the River Roding.This walk is a mix of being very rural and also quite built up and the next photo really shows the urban side of things with concrete footbridges providing the way across the tube line. Not quite as beautiful as the natural environment.
Not far from here into parkland and as it was nearly 2.00, lunch was much in demand so we walked through some of the park and headed off to Costa.
After lunch it was an easy walk down the River Roding.
This is not a huge River by any means but very rich in foliage at this time of year. Plenty of flowers; bullrushes, edging the river itself; plenty of nettles if you were in to gathering them to make nettle tea and still some blackberries for picking and making blackberry and apple pies or just for eating as you walk along.
Made it back about 3.30 and after some stretching, hot baths or showers, still plenty of time for a lovely relaxed evening and the opportunity to look forward to the next walk....and Sharon tells me she really enjoyed it and will be out walking with us again.
