Doe A Deer, A Female Deer.....

Pepper's Green to Great Waltham 8½ miles

The fourth leg of the Essex Way took me in arc north west of Chelmsford from Pepper's Green to Great Waltham. The weather was once again fine and sunny but the scenery much more autumnal than last week. I had to persuade a rather sceptical bus driver that the 59 to Harlow really did stop where I said it did. As you can see there's not a lot there. Of Salt's Green on the opposite side of the A1060 there was no sign. Most of the day was spent on bridleways, byways and grassy footpaths with just one muddy field to cross.

Spotting this deer was the highlight of the day. Deer must have very good hearing as Bambi took off when I pressed the focus button. I think it's a fallow deer but I'm not sure. It was a good day for wildlife as I also spotted a fox later in the day. The day's route took in three villages, Good Easter, Pleshey and Great Waltham. They have an unusual firework night in Good Easter, you bring your own fireworks. I hope no one invites Mario Balotelli. However it's a village without a pub, so I pressed on to Pleshey.

On the way to Pleshey I passed the twenty mile mark, which is a quarter of the way along. Pleshey was once a very important place in Essex. The motte and bailey castle was home to various Earls of Essex before passing to Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester. He got bumped of by Richard II and the castle fell into decay. Next time you watch Shakespeare's Richard II listen out for the name check in Act 1, Scene II. The whole village is still enclosed by the earthworks and ditches. What is left of the castle is privately owned but there is a lovely little park by the moat for everyone to enjoy.

Lunch was taken at the Leather Bottle, (tuna bagette and orange juice and lemonade, £6.49). Pleshey has two pubs and a big Victorian church with a rather cute turret. There are plenty of footpaths so it's not a bad place to visit. It's only a couple of miles to the bus stop in Great Waltham following the course of Walthambury brook. The bus was on time, I saw it whizz along the main road when I still had about 300 metres to go. Sadly the next one was late but there was a seat in the bus stop. I've now gone a quarter of the distance in cloudless conditions. Brilliant!.

Some Essex Way facts

Progress along the route 24 miles. Total miles walked 33.5 miles.

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A Wander from Ongar

Ongar to Pepper's Green 8 miles

Taking advantage of the fantastic October weather, I travelled a further eight miles along the Essex way from Ongar to the hamlet of Pepper's Green via Willingale, split into two circular walks. The route was again very green with only a few roads to cross. For two miles north of Ongar, the Essex Way followed the River Roding, which flows into the Thames at Barking Creek. There was also a long section on byways and green lanes which was rather remote; I met one careful motor cyclist, two riders and three other people in just over ninety minutes walking.

Most people remember Ongar as former end of the Central Line and it does have a museum at the old station. Something I found out through my handy Essex Way guide was the connection with the Titanic. The local Catholic priest was on his way to the United States to conduct his brother's wedding and sadly was lost after volunteering to stay on board. There is a memorial window in the tiny church just of the High Street. There are one or two interesting old buildings , a pretty church and remains of a motte and bailey castle.

The five miles to Willingale were very pleasant walking along the riverbank or across open fields. It should have been peaceful but for the noise of clay pigeon shooting in a nearby wood. The most memorable building for me was this wonderful thatched caravan. Willingale is unusual as two parish churches share the same churchyard. St Christopher's Willingale Doe, to the north, is the larger, St Andrew's Willingale Spain is the elder. St Andrews was used as a chapel for US air crew during World War 2, when there was a large airfield nearby.

I returned to Ongar via a long straight bridleway which ran across the old airfield. Apparently it was built using rubble from bombed out buildings of the East End and there are still piles of hard core lying around. The perimeter roads were also still intact and I spotted several cyclists using them. Unbelievably, this was a proposed site for London's third airport.

After Willingale is the hamlet of Shellow Bowells, my favorite Essex place name. It sound positively Dickensian. Then for three miles, it was a pleasant plod to the hamlet of Pepper's Green.

Some Essex Way Facts.
Progress along the route 15¾ miles. Total distance walked 25¼ miles.

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The only WAY is Essex!

After tramping around the coast and borders of Essex, I thought it was time to tackle the Essex Way, the premier long distance route in my beloved home county. It runs from Epping Station to Harwich in the far north east 82 miles away. I've already walked the beginning part about three times previously as long ago as 2006, accompanied by the faithful hound, Noddy, and the last part on my coastal walk in 2010. Armed with official guide, (kindly provided by Jason of the Public Rights of Way team, and from which I will plagiarise shamelessly for the blog), I set off on the first leg in a blaze of autumnal sunshine following the poppy signs.


Epping to Ongar 7½ miles

The first part of the walk involves walking downhill for about half a mile and then uphill for the next two on what is the highest part of the whole route, to Gernon Bushes, a part of Epping Forest. Once across the M11, the route follows a bridleway through the remains of Ongar Park wood and then along a ridge with fine views to the south of places very close to home, Havering Ridge and further afield to Canary Wharf. It was here on a previous walk I spotted a herd of deer. Next stop is the village of Toot Hill and the Green Man Pub where I had lunch (tuna sandwich and orange juice and lemonade, if anyone is interested).

Between Toot Hill and Greensted the views are less open, following footpaths through paddocks and past large houses, one with an annoying alarm ringing. I was dreading one section which goes through four or five paddocks in quick succession. But the stiles had been replaced by springy metal gates and the horses were absent. Just before Greensted Church, the path actually runs through the yard in front of a converted barn, but I opted to walk around.

St Andrews Church is the highlight of the day. Possibly the oldest wooden church in the world, it has a Crusader's grave by the front porch and a Leper's squint in the rear wall, from where the afflicted could observe the service and a pretty white tower and broach spire very common in south Essex. It's just a mile through the grounds of Greensted Hall and fields to the finishing point in Ongar where I'd left Archie, for a bun and a cup of tea.


My impressions of the first leg; it's a very green walk only crossing five roads (or six, if you include the M11), well signposted throughout (apparently our county flower is the poppy) and only four stiles and one very uninterested horse. However in the bright sunshine I managed to miss a sign and had to suffer the indignity of being given directions by other walkers! The paths around Epping are well used and I met a whole peleton of mountain bikers on a green lane near Stewards Green. I experienced a certain amount of walk rage after nearly getting creamed on a fairly narrow bit. No bells, very few thank-yous and an inability to share. You've been warned!

A great first day.

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