woodlandheritage

Epping Forest from Chingford

Seven kilometres of proper woodland, half an hour from Liverpool Street.

Distance

7 km

Time

~ 150 min

Start

Chingford

End

Chingford

Best at

morning

Right now

28°C· Clear

12 nearby transit lines disrupted — Waterloo & City, District.

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

Epping Forest is the reason people keep saying London is a green city. Seven kilometres from Chingford station gets you into proper ancient woodland — hornbeam, oak, beech — with a Tudor hunting lodge, a Victorian tea room, and a pub at the far end.

Start at Chingford and walk ten minutes to Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge — a 1543 timber-framed building that Elizabeth I herself probably saw. Free to enter, three floors up to the top for the long view.

Butler's Retreat next door for coffee and a piece of cake. Then into the forest proper: Connaught Water first for the easy loop, Hawk Wood for the trees. The paths are well-signed but don't be afraid to go off-piste; the forest is legally protected commons, and the way-finding is actually the point.

Climb to High Beach for the view east — on a clear day you can see the Thames estuary — and then the King's Oak pub for a pint before the walk back.

Seven kilometres, a full morning, a complete change of mental weather.

The route

On the map.

A soft dashed line, numbered stops. It’s a suggestion, not a turn-by-turn.

Elevation

↑ 77 m·↓ 67 m·45–69 m ASL

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

01
1
Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge
A 1543 timber-framed lodge at the edge of the forest. Free entry. Climb to the top floor for the sense that the city is genuinely behind you now.
01
Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge
A 1543 timber-framed lodge at the edge of the forest. Free entry. Climb to the top floor for the sense that the city is genuinely behind you now.
02
2
Butler's Retreat
Tea room in a nineteenth-century barn, next to the lodge. Start with a flat white, pick up a cake for the walk.
02
Butler's Retreat
Tea room in a nineteenth-century barn, next to the lodge. Start with a flat white, pick up a cake for the walk.
03
3
Connaught Water
The first proper bit of the walk: a small lake ringed by broadleaf trees. Swans if you're early, dog-walkers if you're late.
03
Connaught Water
The first proper bit of the walk: a small lake ringed by broadleaf trees. Swans if you're early, dog-walkers if you're late.
04
4
Hawk Wood
Beech, hornbeam, the kind of woodland that makes you forget which century you're in. The paths are well-marked but the real thing is to just wander.
04
Hawk Wood
Beech, hornbeam, the kind of woodland that makes you forget which century you're in. The paths are well-marked but the real thing is to just wander.
05
5
High Beach
The high point of the walk, literally. A view east over the Thames estuary on a clear day; a pub called the King's Oak for a mid-walk pint.
05
High Beach
The high point of the walk, literally. A view east over the Thames estuary on a clear day; a pub called the King's Oak for a mid-walk pint.

Epping Forest from Chingford

On the map.

Things to notice.

Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge

Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge

Butler's Retreat

Butler's Retreat

Connaught Water

Connaught Water

Hawk Wood

Hawk Wood

High Beach

High Beach

Two more, on similar days.

Stoke Newington: Church Street and Abney Park

Finsbury Park to Highgate: the Parkland Walk