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THEYDON BOIS Central Line (Epping) LONDON TUBE RAMBLES WALK 
about 2½ miles not including exploring Epping Forest.
A slightly odd village. When you come out of theTube station and see the Bull pub and the enormous green beyond, you expect a lot of old cottages to be surrounding it, but in fact most of the buildings are comparatively modern. However, there is a great community spirit and a feeling of pride in the village - they even refuse to have street lighting so as to preserve the rural spirit of the place. The 170-year-old avenue of oaks marching into Epping Forest is still impressive, but, sadly, the trees are deteriorating and new ones have been planted against the time when they have to be felled. For a history of the village click here

The main reason for a visit to Theydon Bois is  Epping Forest, but there is a pleasant walk round The Green starting at Poplar Row. To get to this, turn left out of the station, walk past The Bull pub and cross the main road at the zebra. Soon you will come to a large duck pond. A little way past this this is an old house, 'Trail', with a curious mix of tile and thatch on the roof.



At the end of The Green cross Coppice Row carefully and turn left. In a few minutes you will come to what was once the old school, dated 1840. After that is the lychgate of St. Mary's Church (1850, Sidney Smirke). It's a cheerful sort of building in red brick with a row of yew trees and some ancient oaks - it is clear that this is the edge of the Forest. Return to Coppice Row. In a few metres you will see a couple of narrow tracks into the woodland, but if the weather has been at all wet it is best to continue a few minutes to a more official way into the forest.  To the right is a large clearing (Theydon Plain). Do not be tempted to try to cross this in the winter or in wet weather as it gets boggy.
Follow the curves of the path as it turns away from the B172 and goes slightly uphill, until you reach a small car park on the left (about fifteen minutes walk from the entrance to the woods). From here you can explore the Forest further or return to the Tube station. You should be aware that there are no signposts in the woodland, so be careful to keep track of where you turn off any main paths. There are many walking routes through the Forest, but one popular with local people is the trek to Epping, about three miles from the car park mentioned above. (The AA have produced particularly useful directions for this walk.) There are some interesting things to be found in Epping itself - my own trail round the town itself can be found here.From the station bridge there are lovely views over fields to the east, but any long walks there are liable to get involved with traffic noise from the M11.

Photos: (click to enlarge)
The Bull public House
The village pond/Avenue of oaks
'Trail'
MAP
Theydon Bois is just one walk from the many to be found at London Tube Rambles. There are architectural gems, beautiful country views, historic places and quirky buildings to be found, in the area covered by the outer London Underground stations. Usually the discoveries are within a mile of the Tube - often only five minutes walk away. If you reached this as an individual page via a search engine, you might like to click on the link above and see the other destinations explored. You'll be amazed at what's out there!


© DR