Part 11 October 22nd - Gordon Hill to Chingford 15km 4h15
Yet again it has been far to long since I stepped out on the LOOP. So long in fact that I couldn't
remember off hand where I had got to. It's a good job I keep a log of my walks in Ozi :-)
Out of the station and down a few suburban streets to reach my first "country" lane of the day and I
wonder whether somebody is trying to tell me something, p-t-cook.freeserve.co.uksign.jpgOpen ↗
. This leads to the Hilly Fields Park which is just that, a series of fields forming the valley of
the Turkey brook that I shall be following to Enfield where it meets the River Lee. the brook flows
through woods and the LOOP has a country feel just here enhanced by the sheep grazing the fields on
the far bank.
p-t-cook.freeserve.co.ukstile.jpgOpen ↗
This country feel is short lived though as once past Forty Hall the route runs slap bang into the
Lea Valley sprawl crossing dual carriage ways and railway lines and passing a crematorium and school
playing fields, The Turkey Brook becomes more and more choked with refuse as well as weeds but the
moorhens don't seem to mind as there are a lot of immature birds padding along the watery bits.
At Enfield Lock the buildings of the Royal Smallarms Factory lurk behind the lock-keepers cottage
and a pub/club with the hardly imaginative name of Rifles. The bank of the Lee I walked along is
hemmed in with concrete and the water flows deep and fast but manages to support more moorhens and
plenty of mallard where the far bank is allowed to be more natural. Then past some tatty looking
riding stables and out onto farmland again. A surprisingly stiff pull up a farm lane plastered with
signs proclaiming "conservation area, keep to the path, keep your dog on a lead" rewards me with a
vista over towards Alexandra Palace and if it hadn't been for the thundercloud the City of London.
Though the approaching gloom didn't seem to upset a kestrel (as featured on the LOOP waymarks) which
was hovering on the breeze searching the long grass for mice and such.
From here the land is part of Epping Forest and the conservators are trying to establish a herd of
English Longhorn cattle to keep the scrub down.
p-t-cook.freeserve.co.uklonghorn.jpgOpen ↗
They are being held behind electric fences for the time being before being allowed to roam. There
was a sign on the fence explaining what the conservators were up to explaining, "The English
Longhorn is noted for it's ability to survive on rough grazing and it's docile nature." It is
probably a good idea to get people used to them since they look pretty fierce and there will no
doubt be many misidentified "bulls" though I did notice a real bull all cordoned off on his own.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"