Great Canfield walks

A circular walk around the small Essex town of Great Dunmow.
With plenty of historic buildings, a fine 13th century church, some great pubs and a fantastic Indian Restaurant this provides any visitor a taste of this ancient town. The walk is simple and easy and one cannot visit Dunmow without discovering the interesting history of the Dunmow Fitch which is the main feature to this walk.

A circular walk in a comparatively unspoiled part of mid Essex, between Chelmsford and Braintree. It is particularly suited to being a winter walk as most of the route is on quiet country lanes, surfaced bridleways and grassy field paths, thus avoiding the worst of the Essex mud. It is a good walk for any time of year though, with fine views across open countryside and is, for the most part, devoid of traffic noise.

Reviewed and updated April 2024

We divert off the Essex Way to take in some of the histories of this old town. Rejoin the Essex Way for a short distance, before leaving it for one last time. Then follow St Peters Way thru' High Ongar & most of the way to Blackmore. We follow St Peter's Way for over a mile to Fryerning then thru' the village & across fields to Mountnessing. A short walk thru' a housing estate & industrial estate to enter Hutton Nature Reserve to soon finish at Hutton Village.

Explore Hylands Estate following this path through the park.

An impressive Jacobean House, a colourful park and a cute pub are a few of the things you can discover during the Audley End Walk. Follow me in Essex for a walk through history, perfect for a stroll with friends, family and our four-legged companions.

A countryside walk beginning and ending in the village of Terling. Nothing spectacular about the route but it has some nice views and pleasant countryside, passes an old windmill and a rare round tower church. The route follows the course of the River Ter in places, and there are quite a few springs along the way, so it can get muddy. There are a couple of woods with excellent displays of bluebells in the spring but it is a good walk for any time of year. Waymarking is generally excellent.

Details are given for a shorter walk of 4 miles that does not visit Great Leighs church.

If you are looking at this walk, it is likely that you want to leave the city for a breath of fresh air. And you can … without leaving it! So, take your Oyster card (or contactless card) and jump on the Central Line with me for a walk through Epping Forest!

From Epping Station, we follow the Essex Way for our whole route. Thru' fields and an ancient track to Coopersale Street, then across fields to Gernon Bushes Nature Reserve. Cross over the M11 and go in a straight line towards Toot Hill. Thru' Toot Hill village and fields to Greensted and onto Chipping Ongar. Two videos at YouTube, one by John Rogers and a second by voxley19, both cover this whole walk.

3 village circular walk through Howegreen, Great Baddow, and Sandon

Along pavements, footpaths and bridleways and across fields.

This quiet circular walk uses a section of Epping Forest Centenary Walk close to Ambresbury Banks (remains of banks) before you follow a path in Birch Wood with lovely views over Deer Sanctuary and its wildlife!

A circular walk that circumnavigates the village of Little Baddow. Beginning in Lingwood Common, the route follows bridleways, footpaths, the river towpath and quiet country lanes. A good walk for any time of year, but not after spells of prolonged rain when the towpath, especially, can become something of a quagmire. Walking it in spring is highly recommended as Blake's Wood is nationally known for its display of bluebells.

From wooden bus stop we follow Hutton Village, then off-road to the old church. We go cross-country to Ingrave, past the huge pile of Thorndon House & thru' Thorndon Park North. As well as the park, the route takes in many other properties owned by the Thames Chase Community Forest, including Warley Gap, Codham Hall Woods & Franks Wood. We pass thru' Little Warley, Great Warley and skirt the outside of Upminster on our way to the finish at the Thames Chase Forest Centre at Broadfields Farm.

This circular walk close to Loughton Camp provides a good way to discover Little Monk Wood, Baldwins Pond and less used paths along Loughton Brook enjoying this peaceful area.

This quiet circular walk provides a good way to discover paths in Bury and Hill woods using a small section of the Epping Forest Centenary Walk. During this walk, you will see a beautiful oak reckoned to be about 350 years old!

This circular walk with ascents and decents in Epping Forest explores paths in Warren and Strawberry Hills before you go back across Hill Woods. You finally walk along Connaught Water and go back to Barn Hoppitt.

This pleasant circular walk combines several paths in Bury Woods including Holly and Willow Trails. Then, you will walk around Connaught Water enjoying its wildlife!

A point to point walk, which includes Melbourn Village and a stretch across the countryside before heading into Royston Town.

Walk along the river Mel, river Rhee (Cam) and river Shep. Passing the Royal Oak Barrington, the Plough Shepreth and the Green Man Dunsbridge Turnpike.

⚠️ Some parts are really overgrown. We contacted the author to let them know. If you do this walk please let us know how it is 😉.

From Meldreth Station, this circular walk takes you past two churches, through the Melwood Nature Reserve and past the British Queen Pub.