10 Polyramblers were not put off by the rain to do part 13 of the London Loop.  The rain soon stopped to be replaced by a cloudy day which cleared up in the afternoon.  After reaching Enfield Lock and following the River Lea for a short while, we climbed into the Sewardstone Hills from where we could see the King George V reservoir which supplies London’s water.  We were accompanied by music as we walked into Gilwell Park,  as there was a jamboree in the home of scouting in the UK.  We came down Yardley Hill to the bottom of the valley from where we climbed up again, entering Epping Forest.  We followed the edge of Chingford Golf Course and Chingford Plain before arriving at our lunch stop, the Royal Forest bar/restaurant which is situated next to the Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Hunting Lodge, a white timber framed building which is open free to the public. Built for King Henry VIII in 1543, it is the only remaining timber-framed hunting lodge left standing in England.  While some people had coffee, others went to visit the hunting lodge.  We went up the hill of the Warren where we were warned that cows were at work.  However, they must have been on holiday because there were not cows.  We skirted the edge of a cricket ground while a game was on.  Then onto Buckhurst Hill, Roebuck Green and the Roding Valley before crossing the M11 and reaching Chigwell Station where this section of the loop ended.

Leaders Martin and Anna