You are here: Routes > Essex Way Stage 1 - Epping Tube Station to Fyfield

Essex Way Stage 1 - Epping Tube Station to Fyfield

Type: Walk

Grade: Moderate

Duration: 1d

Facilities

Routes

Length of route (miles) - 12

About

The entire Essex Way stretches 82 miles in total from Epping Station to Harwich Old Lighthouse, passing through five county districts: Epping Forest, Braintree Chelmsford, Colchester and Tendring. This first stretch of the Essex Way is 12 miles long. It starts from Epping Tube Station, Epping Forest, and finishes at Fyfield village, also in Epping Forest District. Stage 1 is mixture of ancient woodland, historic churches, and River Roding river bank.

The path opens up into rolling countryside less than 400 yards east of Epping Tube station and within another 1.5 miles, the path enters what remains of the northern section of the tree cover that was once part of Epping Forest proper. The trail is well signed in the early sections, but soon becomes difficult to follow without a map and compass. Do good map research before leaving home. Take a compass and OS map.

Highlights include dense woodland walks, paddling about the River Roding, mushroom grazing at dawn, and listening for mewing buzzards over Toot Hill. Look for bats around the edges of High Wood and Mount Wood at dusk.

Please see below for some of the points of interest between Epping Tube Station, Epping Forest, and Fyfield village.

Content provided by Stephen Neale

Facilities

Accessibility

Disabled toilets - Bakers Lane, Epping, CM16 5DQ Zinc Arts Centre, Great Stony, High Street, Ongar, CM5 0AD

Catering

On-site catering - There is 24hr catering in Epping and limited catering along others part of the trail.
On-site light refreshments - There is 24hr catering in Epping and limited catering along others part of the trail.
Picnic site - All along the trail

Parking

Free Parking - Limited off-street parking around Epping and other villages and towns along the trail.
Parking with charge - Epping Station, Station Rd, Epping CM16 4HW High St, Chipping Ongar, Ongar CM5 9AB

Routes

Accessibility of route - Urban parts of trail around the towns and villages of Epping are suitable for wheelchairs/pushchairs. Other parts of the trail are not suitable. The terrain is generally flat but can get very muddy in winter. There are some steps and stiles.
Countryside - Yes but some urban
Length of route (miles) - 12
Long Distance Path
Typical duration of route - 1 day (8hrs)
Woodland - Some tree cover at intervals along the trail

Suitability

Dog Owners - Suitable for dogs but must be kept on leads most of the time.
Families

Map & Directions

Map Link

Click here to view map

START/END:– Epping Tube Station. Epping CM16 4HW
Stewards’s Green Lane – step into countryside and cornfields within a few minutes of Epping Tube Station.
Gernon Bushes – find fungi in autumn. Lots of fun identifying mushrooms around the perimeter of Epping Forest’s wooded borders.
High Wood – tramp the crossroads where the Mount Wood greenway meets the High Wood highway. Proper Dick Turpin territory, with great views. No stage coaches but plenty of good hacks for horse riders and cyclists.
Toot Hill – look out for circling buzzards above the elevated stile that borders the rural and urban Toot boundary.
Greenstead Church – touch the stone of crusader knight’s grave at what might be the oldest wooden church in the world
Mulberry House Wood – listen for nightingales at dawn, in spring, along the west side of the wood.
Clark’s Spring – paddle the River Roding at its deepest beside Clark’s Spring. Somewhere to sit and cool tired feet.
START/END:– Fyfield Ongar Road, CM5 ORB