Cheshunt Circular swc.311

Length 7.1 miles (11½ km). Two hours 30 minutes walking time. There an option to continue on to Broxbourne after passing Cheshunt station on the return leg, making a walk of 10.6 miles (17 km).


Travel: Get the 1010 Cheshunt train from Liverpool Street (Seven Sisters 1022) arriving 1039. Returns are xx15 & xx45. Note that there is a rail replacement bus service from Broxbourne to Cheshunt xx13 xx43. Buy a return to Cheshunt or Broxbourne, but you can use Oyster or contactless payments on this route.

There is also a London Overground service (0945 Liverpool Street arr 1026) which takes longer but would be free for Freedom Pass holders and may have better connections.

Lunch: There are various suggestions for lunch in Waltham Abbey in the directions.

Extra Walk 311 – Cheshunt to Broxbourne, via Waltham Abbey
Length: 17 km (10.6 miles), with the option of a shorter circular walk. Toughness: 2/10

10:28 Cambridge train from Liverpool Street (Tottenham Hale 10:40), arriving Cheshunt at 10:48. You can use Oyster PAYG or contactless at Cheshunt and Broxbourne but both these stations are outside the main TfL fare zones. You might well find that a simple return to Broxbourne is cheaper.

There are trains back from Broxbourne at xx:16 & xx:47 to Liverpool Street, and xx:25 & xx:55 to Stratford. All trains call at Cheshunt (4 minutes later) and Tottenham Hale.

A preliminary version of this walk had its début in February, so apologies to Sunday walkers for an early repeat. As much of it is on surfaced paths through River Lee Country Park it will doubtless get pigeon-holed as a winter walk, so this might be your best chance to see what the area looks like with leaves on the trees, orchids flowering in woodland glades and dragonflies flitting around the ponds.

Lunch is in the town of Waltham Abbey, which boasts a particularly fine Norman church: much smaller than in its heyday as an Augustinian Abbey, but well worth a look. There are plenty of possible watering-holes and two of the pubs are suggested – one in the western hemisphere, the other in the eastern. On the return route it's worth popping into the Terrace Bar & Café in the Lee Valley White Water Centre, either for some mid-afternoon refreshment or simply to watch the spectacle.

The route goes back past Cheshunt station so you could simply call it a day and complete an 11½ km Short Circular Walk. The full walk continues northwards through a less-frequented section of the Country Park to Broxbourne, with the reward of a nice riverside café (or pub) before the journey back.

You'll need to bring the directions from the Cheshunt to Broxbourne walk page. T=swc.311

New Walk – Cheshunt Circular
Length: Up to 15¼ km (9.5 miles). Toughness: 1/10

11:12 Cheshunt train from Liverpool Street (Hackney Downs 11:18, Tottenham Hale 11:25, etc), arriving Cheshunt at 11:40. You can use Oyster PAYG or contactless but Cheshunt is in TfL Zone 8, outside the main fare zones, so a simple day return to Cheshunt might be cheaper.

Freedom Pass holders hoping for a free ride will be disappointed since engineering works have scuppered the alternative London Overground service today. You'll need an extension from Zone 6 to Cheshunt on the West Anglia service.

Trains back to Liverpool Street are at xx:20, xx29, xx:51 & xx:59.

It seems to be obligatory these days to claim that a walk will be mud-free so I'll follow the trend and say that much of this new walk is on surfaced paths through River Lee Country Park. Even so, I expect you'll have to negotiate a few gloopy spots. You won't see all the wildlife advertised at this time of year (an abundance of dragonflies? masses of orchids?) but there should be enough features to sustain your interest.

Lunch is in the town of Waltham Abbey, which boasts a particularly fine Norman church: much smaller than in its heyday as an Augustinian Abbey, but well worth a look. There are plenty of possible watering-holes and two of the pubs are suggested – one in the western hemisphere, the other in the eastern. As always, any feedback on the ones you try would be appreciated.

A glance at the document's Walk Map will reveal that this is really a 10 km walk padded out with various loops and whorls, which does at least give you the opportunity to take some short cuts if the weather's poor. In due course it will probably acquire some longer options (northwards to Broxbourne or southwards to Enfield Lock), but as it stands it should make a decent enough walk for this time of year.

You'll need to print the directions from this temporary New Walk page. T=swc.311