Walepp two

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Walepp here.

I'm flagging the route for Access issues, see below, but hopefully it will be cleared by Essex County Council fairly soon. If you walk and find it clear again please comment and I'll remove it. And if it's still not cleared you can badger the council too.

*Very* muddy in places, but there has been plenty of rain for weeks now. Worst was the eastern part of the path through Bell Common, deep mud and water, hedge to hedge wide so it not passable but a slight diversion down High Road was an easy fix.
A minor issue was an unsigned turning off the bridleway Sergeant's Green Lane onto the PRoW footpath towards Woodgreen Rd. Difficult to see as A turn in the path means it's camouflaged plus no light though hedge. Picked up the overshot soon at the cottages so not serious. Not helped if your attention is split with picking dry places to put every footstep. And odd because there's some excellent signage very nearby.

It was a very nice walk despite the conditions. But I was stymied by a blocked right of way footpath. It's not too far after crossing Woodgreen Rd. Luckily locals at the next door fishing lake let me cut through and given that the route test had failed, and theoretically should be fixable no new route is required. I decided to stop there. I've let the county council know about the blockage and the lack of sign on Sergeant's Green Lane.

The blocked path appears to have a large mature bush growing right now across and even through the electric fence the other side. But looking closer at the growth pattern it might be a small fallen tree, there have been some big storms recently.

I walked this on a frosty December morning, from Epping to Walkham Abbey. It had rained a little in the past week, but as it was below zero, nothing was muddy.

From Epping station there is a little uphill, and after walking along some residential streets for a little, the route takes you through a lovely wood, some open fields, and then along a foot path well away set from a road. There were some (frozen) muddy sections here. You then cross a busy road, which you follow for a short stretch, before heading towards the edge of more fields. You can see Coppen Hall on a hilltop in a distance. After coming through a gate, you then follow the edge of a field for a while, before continuing on a lane. Soon there is a dedicated foot path again, after going over a stile, avoiding some of the Coppen Estates' buildings. I said hi to some horses and then followed an (icy) road for a while, before crossing through the woods to walk along the edge of a field again. On the other side of some woods, the route then continues along a road (with annoying pavement parked cars near the church), before going through a lovely wood. Then it's alongside a field, through a stuck gate, some hanging brambles (ow), through a brambly hedge, across an electric fence (almost), and then through a park to end up in Waltham Abbey, with some pavement walking into town.

A lovely route, many stiles, some gates, and I also saw a few deer. (Sadly, they were too fast for the photos).

Share your views about this route, give it a star rating, indicate whether it should be verified or not.

Include information that will be useful to others considering to walk or wheel it.

You can add up to 15 photos.