Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Oak Trail Epping Forest Walking Route

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Oak Trail Epping Forest Walking Route

The Oak Trail offers an opportunity to enjoy a beautiful area of Epping Forest and some of its surrounding Buffer Lands. The route passes some magnificent veteran beech pollards, areas of wood pasture, Ambresbury Banks and the Deer Sanctuary covering just under 7 miles taking me exactly 2 hours to complete.

When I left the house for the short drive up to Theydon Bois it was a chilly day with clear blue skies. I was hoping to see some deer and capture some really good Autumn photographs of Epping Forest but it soon turned grey and started to rain.

Walks And Walking - Essex Walks The Oak Trail Epping Forest Walking Route - Autumn Trees

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks The Oak Trail Epping Forest Walking Route – Autumn Trees

The walk starts at Theydon Bois tube station and quickly takes you onto Great Gregories, one of the City of London’s Buffer Land areas currently used for in-house grazing of our conservation cattle. A lot of the trail will follow defined paths, surfaced rides, fields and Forest with directional posts as guides. When I walked The Oak Trail today there were no sign of any of the green arrow signposts so I was glad I had my OS map with me.

Walks And Walking - Essex Walks The Oak Trail Epping Forest Walking Route

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks The Oak Trail Epping Forest Walking Route

AMBRESBURY BANKS

The remains of an Iron Age Hill Fort and, according to legend, it is the site of the last stand by Boudicca against the Romans in AD61. The fort covers an area of approximately 11 acres and was once surrounded by a 6ft single bank and a ditch.

DEER SANCTUARY

Founded in 1959, it is home to a herd of black fallow deer. The Sanctuary covers approximately 140 acres. Forest Keepers lead Guided Walks around the Sanctuary: please see the Epping Forest Events Diary. For further details telephone 020 7332 1911.

BUFFER LANDS

Some 1778 acres of Buffer Land has been acquired to protect the Forest from encroaching development and to maintain the links between the Forest and the wider countryside. Regular inhabitants include fallow and muntjac deer, hares and skylarks.

Walks And Walking - Essex Walks Oak Trail Epping Forest Walking Route Map

Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Oak Trail Epping Forest Walking Route Map



14 responses to “Walks And Walking – Essex Walks Oak Trail Epping Forest Walking Route”

  1. Kate says:
    01/04/2013 at 18:27

    Hi! Just wanted to say, thanks for your article! My boyfriend and I completed this walk today – rather foolishly without an OS map! As you say, there’s no green arrows or route to guide the way, and if you hadn’t published this article, I dare say we would have had to give up and head home! We ended up referencing your map more than the official one. Had a great day. Thanks again!

  2. David Knockton says:
    02/04/2013 at 18:24

    Awesome! Thanks for the lovely comment 🙂

  3. Andrew says:
    07/02/2014 at 10:14

    Hi David,
    Just to let you know that the green arrow waymarkers are now in place on this route. It is also worth noting that they run anti-clockwise, not clockwise as in the original poster:
    http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/epping-forest/sports-events-and-activities/Documents/oak-trail-epping-forest.pdf

  4. David Knockton says:
    08/02/2014 at 06:53

    Thanks Andrew 🙂

  5. Sue Giles says:
    09/08/2015 at 05:50

    Hinthere,. We tried to do this walk a few days ago. There are some green arrows but not along the whole route. We ended up following orange ones which took us the right way, we think, however you need to really keep your eyes open. We went wrong a few times. The beginning part of the walk needs to be clearer as we were walking along a very overgrown path behind houses wondering if we were right. Once in the forest, it is lovely.

  6. David Knockton says:
    25/08/2015 at 07:47

    Hi, I remember that walk well. As I walked up from the tube station I lost track of the green arrows too. I did let Epping Council know but it doesn’t look like they’ve done anything about it yet. Thanks for your comment 🙂 David.

  7. Claire says:
    17/01/2016 at 21:04

    Hello, we did this walk today, would agree that the green arrows are very sparse, in fact we only saw three with the green arrow and Oak Trail on it, however we did quickly pick up the red/sometimes bluey green arrows on wooden posts throughout the rest of the walk, which were really good. Obviously going in Mid January it was very muddy in places for most of the walk (but also the walk does have some long stretches with hard paths), but we still really enjoyed the walk and will be going back in the summer to do it again and to see the tree’s in their full foilage.

  8. Usman Khalid says:
    28/04/2018 at 16:59

    Hello, Actually I am planning to arrange this walk but can anyone kindly help me that how much time it takes to complete this walk at a normal pace and also can I get a clear map of this route? Whats the starting point and ending point as well ? Thanks

  9. Miss sharon goulding says:
    01/11/2018 at 00:10

    Hi I live on oy own and wondered if there are any organised walks around this area. Would love to start up walking but don’t feel safe doing it alone. Would be great to hear from you.

  10. Meike says:
    28/11/2018 at 09:03

    New to this Area, would Love to join walkinggroup too

  11. Gwyneth says:
    20/01/2019 at 06:16

    Is there any kingfishers along the walk ?

  12. Fletcher says:
    22/03/2019 at 07:54

    Can you take a baby buggy on this walk?

  13. VB says:
    23/08/2019 at 18:36

    Hi Fletcher, did you manage to take the baby buggy with you on this walk?
    Thanks

  14. Seth says:
    27/06/2020 at 23:03

    We went around the wrong way. The reverse is the official map. Basically at the Bull pub, turn RIGHT! Then you’ll be on the right track.

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