Ten members met up at Manor Park station on Sunday 27th November for a figure-of-eight pleasant meander along the borders of Epping Forest. Initially, the route skirted the perimeter of the Grade-1 listed City of London Cemetery, one of the largest municipal cemeteries in Europe. It was established in 1826 and covers 200 acres. Bobby Moore amongst many others is buried there. The River Roding then came into view and the group followed it until we reached the entrance to Wanstead Park. Soon the welcoming sight of the Tea Hut appeared where we stopped for some refreshment. The park was a formal landscape surrounding Wanstead House but now only contains fragments of the estate. These include two follies. One called the Temple which is now a visitor centre. The other is a grade 11 listed building called the Grotto which was patially destroyed by fire in 1884. It is now being restored along with its landing stage. Both were seen before we passed the Tea Hut again and continued our walk alongside Heronry Pond. Leaving the park, we soon crossed Wanstead Flats to the Golden Fleece pub where most of the group had an excellent late-lunch. It was the venue of the Club’s Xmas Lunch in 2011. A short walk then took us back to Manor Park station.
Danny. Photos courtesy of Fiona Thomson
