Olympic and Victoria Parks Walk

A warm sunny morning, Saturday 11th July, and we’re meeting at Stratford station at the slightly earlier time of 10.30 due to: (a) the hot weather, (b) tonight’s quiz having been brought forward an hour due to a certain football competition (well, that worked out well didn’t it, what is it with England and semi-finals!) and (c) the Wimbledon ladies’ tennis final.

Anyway, nine of us met up at the station entrance and we headed off through Westfield towards the Olympic Park. We crossed the bridge over the River Lea and turned right down the slope just before the football stadium to reach Carpenter’s Lock, where there was an information board. We crossed over the river and then walked along the river to the Great British Garden, which was designed by various gardeners for the Olympic Development.

Rejoining the road, we then took a riverside path to Old Ford Lock, where we spotted a terrapin basking on a stone. We then headed north along the Lee Navigation and crossed the waterway before turning to walk along the Hertford Union Canal, which connects the Lee Navigation with the Regents Canal. It’s a very short canal but does have three locks and there’s also a link to the country’s first railway murder.

Upon reaching the Regents Canal, we walked along it for a brief while to the next lock, where we left the canal for the delights of Victoria Park, walking alongside the West Lake before turning right by the sunken gardens and an avenue of trees which provided a suitable shaded area for lunch.

Having refuelled, we continued along the driveway to Grove Road, where a couple of people departed, whilst we continued back through the park, passing East Lake before heading back to the Hertford Union Canal, rejoining it at the top lock and then retracing our steps to the Lee Navigation.

From here we continued on Carpenters Road to a road bridge where we turned right up a slope and headed back to Westfield with the River Lea now below us to our left side, before crossing over the bridge from paragraph 2 above (which is what I’ll now call the bridge, until I get fed up with it’s stupid new name!) and heading back into the joys(!) of the Westfield shopping centre, where some of us headed to the café in a large well-known department store for a refreshing drink and cake.

The walk had been just over 5 miles long, mostly by rivers and canals or shaded areas of the park. Well done to those who braved the heat and six of us completed the full walk. A very enjoyable waterside jaunt.

Trev (Pathfinder) Eley, 17th July 2026

Epping Forest Outdoor Group - 70th Birthday Party

The Group celebrated its 70^th birthday on Saturday 20th June with a party at our regular meeting place in the ROVSCO Scout hall at Snaresbrook.

Our group, which enjoys a wide range of social events, including walks, cycle rides, theatre visits and sports events as well as a weekly Thursday night social evening, was started in 1956 in Walthamstow, and has been going successfully for 70 years. Originally affiliated to the Youth Hostel Association, it is now run by and for its members. The group’s current program has something on every week and most weekends, as well as midweek events.

The party was from 2pm until 5pm, and about 40 current and former members met up to celebrate and reminisce, with food and entertainment provided by the group and its members. Group vice-chairman Peter Gamble -  who was a member from the early days of the group - said, “It was a very enjoyable party and was good to catch up with former members and old friends.”

Warley and Thorndon Park

Monday 22nd May - the late May Bank Holiday - and the weather was very hot, threatening to be the hottest bank holiday ever, so I’d revised the walk to keep it as much in the shade as possible. I arrived at Brentwood Station and was soon joined by Jill V and Lynne, so we went to a nearby coffee shop. As the ladies were finishing their drinks, Kathy and Graham arrived.

We set off, heading past the station and uphill towards Hartswood, via Woodman Road, and passing the pub. It was pretty hot in the direct sun, but we soon reached Hartswood and entered the woodland, enjoying the coolness of being in the shade, and listening to the birdsong. We followed the forest path to the right, through woodland, which when I was younger had loads of wood ant nests, but we didn’t see any today.

After a while we crossed over a road to enter another area of woodland before reaching Warley playing fields, where we turned left and emerged by the council depot just off The Drive. We followed the road and emerged opposite the Old Ford Office, which used to be Ford’s European Headquarters, before turning left and entering Barracks Wood, which was used for training by soldiers stationed at Warley Barracks. We crossed over another road to enter Thorndon Park North and soon arrived at the visitor centre, where we had lunch at one of the picnic benches.

After lunch, and a drink at the Centre’s café, we set off to explore a bit of Thorndon Park, including the Deer Park, although there aren’t any deer in it now. The area near the visitor centre was busy with families exploring the Gruffalo Trail in the woods, and whilst we didn’t see the Gruffalo, we did see the squirrel and fox. We slightly over explored the area, ending up a bit further south than I originally thought we were, but soon picked up the track back to the visitor centre.

From here we followed the track past the park gates, similar to those at Copped Hall, and crossed over the road back into Hartswood, and followed woodland paths back to Hartswood Road, crossing over a ditch using a fallen tree-trunk as an impromptu bridge. Back on the road, Jill went off to visit a friend who lives locally, whilst the rest of us returned downhill to the railway station.

The walk had been very tranquil and we covered a distance of 7 miles. Whilst the day was the hottest May day on record, we had a nice comfortable walk, as apart from 15 minutes at the start and finish, it was almost entirely in the cool shade of the woods. Many thanks to those who came despite the promised/threatened heat and made it an enjoyable walk.

Trev (Pathfinder) Eley, 28th May 2026 

Castle Hedingham

On Tuesday 19th May, 9 of us in two cars travelled to Hedingham Castle, arriving there just before 11.30 am. Whilst paying admission we were informed of a guided tour at 12 noon. We therefore had drinks etc. at the café and then met with the guide. Being a rather wet day to start, it was just us and about 3 others. It was an interesting tour, learning a few things we’d not picked up on during our last, unguided visit.

EFOG'ers eating in the garrison room of Castle Hedingham. Photo by MadeleineWe then ate our sandwiches in the warmth of the café before heading off on the walk at 2 pm, by which time the sun was just showing its face. We started with a detour by the lakes in the grounds before heading down Bayley Street, Nunnery Street and Kirby Hall Road to then follow a footpath to cross the Colne Valley Railway line beside an old signal box. Back on Nunnery Street we were slightly puzzled by a bus stop sign headed ‘Memories’, but a google search revealed that was the name of a pub/Chinese restaurant at the road junction, but which now just looks like a regular, albeit large, house. We then used footpaths roughly following the River Colne to Sible Hedingham, spotting a muntjac deer on our path en route. We turned left at a large house complete with its own tennis court, and crossed a couple of fields back to Castle Hedingham. We were hoping to finish in a pub, but The Wheatsheaf, which we used last time was now up for sale and The Bell was closed between 2.30 pm and 6.30 pm. Tea Rooms also close very early so it was basically a quick tour of the village, with quaint thatched and other cottages plus a sighting of a red kite above a play area with a sign –‘No Kite Flying’ - and back to the cars. The walk itself was around 3 miles, but with the castle tour as well we covered a bit more and it felt even longer.

Richard  20th May 2026