I was pleased to have an excuse to get back to Valentines Park as it was a regular venue for my lockdown cycles but I haven't been there for ages....

Dan Barron

Cross the road from the station (coffee) and walk along the high street with interesting shops and buildings then into Valentines Park. I'd hoped to walk through Repton Park but this is a gated community, a very locked gate community, so an early exit to the busy Tomswood Hill Road was necessary. I walked on the East side of Chigwell High Road as my feet enjoyed the variety of surfaces, but the West side offers a good even pavement....

Strider

Good use of green space, wide paths in some areas, quite narrow and overgrown in others....

Strider

As Daisy mentions, despite being very suburban, she has managed to include some really great patches of green. I particularly enjoyed Claybury Park and the few moments I got along side the river Roding and I spotted some lovely wildlife by the water....

Dan Barron

I walked this route from Loughton to Chigwell. Easy to navigate with some enjoyable patches of green. As noted by other reviewers, there's a big hill at the Chingford end....

Dan Barron

After some residential streets in Chigwell (photo #1) and fields (photo #2, #3), the route takes you along a narrow footpath along Vicarage Lane to cross Chigwell Row Wood to join the London LOOP with good paths (photo #5). The footpath along the road is okay here (photo #4)....

Derick Rethans

The biggest issue for me were the two sub-par road crossings but my own experience wasn't bad I just wouldn't recommend them without putting a warning, the route description is better since any review will eventually drop below a list of more recent ones. Being enjoyable is a subjective criteria, and the varied (semi-)natural habitats (Claybury Park and the riverbank on top of Epping Forest) and the variation in neighbourhood character achieve that for me, and avoiding walking beside busy roads is also important. The missing part starts from the meadow in Epping Forest by Chelmsford Road and ends where this route leaves the bank of the Roding in Woodford....

Daisy C

There is some road walking, rather more than I would have liked, in particular the section along the B173 Lambourne Road, and Vicarage Lane - the name suggests sleepy Miss Marple territory, but it's a fast feeder for the nearby B road. The long section along Hook Lane at Stapleford Abbots (c 1.5 km) I didn't find so troublesome - no pavement but a wide verge, fewer cars, and by and large considerate drivers....

Jane Taylor

Highlight was the River Roding and surroundings, plus some good walking on quiet roads. The lane eventually crosses the M25, ending at a fortress-like but unlocked gate with a cheaply laminated You Are Entering The Roding Valley Meadows sign. Next comes the good bit: first an unmade and slightly muddy track between trees, then across the River Roding flood meadows....

Daisy C

I started from Romford and encountered a lot of queueing traffic on Mawney Rd, I checked a parallel route via Mildmay Rd, much quieter, but not worth a new route. She also mentions that on Thursdays there is an enormous car boot sale on the route between Marks Gate and the A12....

Daisy C

Then the least enjoyable section which was the pavement walking on Manor Road and Vicarage Lane - it was a relief to jump off that for the final stretch to Chigwell station and easy to get home on the Central Line!...

Dan Barron

(1) Narrow muddy paths and some road walking bring you to a (2) serene woodland (or four) with wide leaf strewn paths and easy walking....

Strider

Walk a short way along the road to a crossing place. A short walk alongside a busy road to a roundabout with a crossing refuge in the middle of the road. There is an opening through the hedge with bollard (again narrow) by the roundabout taking you across Hainault Recreation Ground and Playing fields, you may need to walk around the pitches if games are being played....

Strider

This route walks through houses, flies over busy roads, misses subways and goes through locked gates....

Strider

From Chigwell Tube Station there is a dip past the shops then a long uphill (about 1km at 10%) following the London Loop signs. Turning left there is a quiet road past a building site down past a stables where the quiet road turns into a quieter track, over the M11 on a foot bridge to a woodland path....

Strider

From Loughton station the route takes you through some alleyways, before leading you alongside a busy residential road....

Derick Rethans

From Chigwell station the route takes you through a well-kept residential area past a church and then along a footpath through a small green. The route then takes you through some quiet residential areas up to the main road (New North Road) close to Hainault station. The route then takes you through another residential area which has a nice play park, outdoor gym and basketball court. The route then takes you away from the residential area and through Warren Farm....

Carla Khouri

The first, short section through Epping Forest is difficult to navigate with no obvious path taking the route shown, and for much of the year is very very muddy - wellies or similar boots are essential....

Rose