Harlow Circular walk
An easy walk through south east Hertfordshire.
History
This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.
Date | Option | Post | # | Weather |
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Sat, | Harlow Circular | 3 | hazy sunshine | |
Sat, | Saturday Walk - Harlow Circular - late start, short journey, short walk | 10 | mild | |
Sat, | Saturday Walk – Harlow Circular: an easy short walk close to London | 14 | Brrrrrrrrrrrr with Autumn sun most of the day | |
Sun, | Sunday Second Walk - Gentle Essex walk | |||
Sun, | Harlow Circular | 0 | ||
Sun, | Harlow Circular | |||
Sun, | Harlow Circular | |||
Sun, | Harlow Circular | |||
Sat, | Harlow Circular | |||
Sun, | Harlow Circular | |||
Wed, | Harlow Circular |
Length: 14km (8.7 miles).
Toughness 1/10
Catch the 10:55 train from London Liverpool Street, arrives Harlow Town 11:24. T=swc.55
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Anonymous02-Feb-20
Two Saturday walks that are just 8 miles? Surely most of us want a choice of more demanding fare? What about two proper walks and one shorty? Thank you to all schedulers.
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02-Feb-20
How lovely to have a choice of 2 winter-length walks!
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07-Feb-20
✓
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09-Feb-20
Lovely weather with hazy sunshine for this easy walk with wide open vistas of Essex clay fields and mud free bridleways. Only 3 of us but as the walk author is rarely seen by me these days an opportunity to catch up on SWC gossip and reminisces of Nicholas Alberry was afforded. The high spot was the Fox and Hounds Gastropub In Hunsdon whose Michelin Bib and Hardens menu did not disappoint and we enjoyed an elegant contemporary dining room free from the crowds in the bar area. Later the 360 degree vistas of recently ploughed fields were encircled by single engine light aircraft. Very 1917. Shame that only 3 turned out for this quick and cheap journey 1 stop only from Tottenham Hale in the Stanstead Express Some of us cannot manage long distance walks leaving the Metropolitan walkers and Capital walkers to slog through their 14 miles of mud at this time of year. It’s also nice to get home at a sensible time to enjoy an evening out so we caught a 5pm train having lingered over a long lunch natter and noggin in true old style SWC comfort and conversation. Thank you DAC more shorter walks please. Marion
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09-Feb-20
3
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09-Feb-20
hazy sunshine
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09-Feb-20
Mv'd from New comments.
"Lovely weather with hazy sunshine for this easy walk with wide open vistas of Essex clay fields and mud free bridleways. Only 3 of us but as the walk author is rarely seen by me these days an opportunity to catch up on SWC gossip and reminisces of Nicholas Alberry was afforded. The high spot was the Fox and Hounds Gastropub In Hunsdon whose Michelin Bib and Hardens menu did not disappoint and we enjoyed an elegant contemporary dining room free from the crowds in the bar area. Later the 360 degree vistas of recently ploughed fields were encircled by single engine light aircraft. Very 1917. Shame that only 3 turned out for this quick and cheap journey 1 stop only from Tottenham Hale in the Stanstead Express Some of us cannot manage long distance walks leaving the Metropolitan walkers and Capital walkers to slog through their 14 miles of mud at this time of year. It’s also nice to get home at a sensible time to enjoy an evening out so we caught a 5pm train having lingered over a long lunch natter and noggin in true old style SWC comfort and conversation. Thank you DAC more shorter walks please. Marion"
I had not been pn this walk since 2008 and maybe no more as area is down for new housing development - ref. current issues under web walk notes, including 8,500 new homes in the Gilston area.
Length: 8.7 miles (14 km). Toughness: 1/10
"This is a fairly easy walk with the advantage of being close to London, making it ideally suited for a short winter’s day. Depending on the time of year, there are a couple of sections where the footpath is not obvious across expansive (recently harvested / fallow) fields; however there are distinctive landmarks to guide you." "A great day out with one walker mischievously complaining about the low level of road noise and lack of industrial estates."
Trains: Get the 0955 Stanstead train from Liverpool Street (Tottenham Hale 1006) arriving Harlow Town 1024. cdr to Harlow Town. Return trains at xx00, xx32, xx40.
Lunch is the The Crown (07415 370860) or more gastro (Michelin BIB Gourmand 2019) Fox & Hounds (01279 843999)
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02-Mar-19
10 on this walk of big skies and big flat fields with thankfully clear paths with only a bit of claggy mud. Right at the start there was a slick and sloping narrow path which we all managed to negotiate without any spills albeit in a somewhat ungainly manner. Weather mild ,-cloudy-with-sunny-periods. Blackthorn and cherry blossom out but will it survive the windy weather of the next 24 hours?
Excellent lunch at the Fox and Hounds with friendly and efficient staff and it was good to see family groups enjoying their Sunday meals although the pub was far from full. The Crown a bit further on is an adequate alternative although it helps if you are a Sky Sports fan.
More big fields after lunch and we watched an almost impossibly fragile looking plane take off from a tiny airfield. We got back to Harlow quite early and 3 set off for the town centre for refreshments while the rest of us caught trains home.
This is hardly an aesthetically classic walk but makes a pleasant outing through attractive villages. Worth noting too is that it is stile-free. A good day in the company of some older regulars (or should that be lags (;>) )
Length: 14 km (8.7 miles). Toughness: 1/10
10:40 Stansted Airport train from Liverpool Street (Seven Sisters 10:53), arriving Harlow Town at 11:16.
There are six return trains each hour from Harlow Town, with the fastest ones (from Stansted Airport) at around xx:02, xx:17, etc.
I haven't done this walk myself and no-one has seen fit to upload any photos of it, but the author describes it as ideally suited for a short winter's day (sunset is at 4pm). Its only previous Saturday posting was back in 2009, but a couple of anonymous explorers recently posted some sparkling reviews – brilliant! fantastic! – so it's about time a few more Saturday Walkers had a chance to enjoy it.
The lunchtime stop is in the village of Hunsdon, just under halfway round the walk. You can choose between an up-market gastropub, the Fox & Hounds, or a more traditional pub lunch in The Crown. The walk document suggests a couple of pubs on the way back to Harlow for refreshment, and I'm sure there'll be the usual range of coffee shops if you look around the town before catching a train. There should also be a trolley service on the Stansted Airport trains.
You'll need to bring the walk directions on this pdf document. There are only a few pages and it was updated at the start of the year, so there shouldn't be any problem with the directions. T=swc.55
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15-Nov-17
Have led this for The Ramblers last winter and can recommend it. Booking advised for the gastropub, and that alone is worth the walk.
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25-Nov-17
Brrrrrrrrrrrr with Autumn sun most of the day on this pleasant Essex walk. 11 set of from Harlow Town Station towards Eastwick and on to Hunsdon for lunch. The Crown was not serving food, so many visited the Fox and Hounds. An expensive gastropub, however the food was excellent with a roaring fire and friendly staff. The starters were well sized too. An interesting afternoon section passing Hunsdon airfield and thev gothic styled Gilston Park House and then finally along the River Stort to return to Harlow. A great day out with one walker mischievously complaining about the low level of road noise and lack of industrial estates. Well it is Essex!
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26-Nov-17
Errata
Anonymous, thank you for pointing out the County faux pas in my first post. My excuse was spotting pylons and land fill at the beginning of the walk.
In another clanger, Bridie informs me numbers were in fact 14
So it's along to Specsavers toute suite for me!
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26-Nov-17
In Hunsdon a few of us went to the Crown hoping for a quick snack, but their chef hadn't turned up so the Fox & Hounds gained some extra custom. Hopefully this was just a one-off as it's always helpful when a village offers a choice of lunchtime pubs.
The walk has some nice stretches and it's a shame that the footpaths across large farm fields aren't marked out. To avoid wading through lots of heavy sticky mud you have to follow the author's suggested detours around field edges, although yesterday there was no such escape across one huge field of wet crops after the airfield.
The state of the paths was disappointing because we passed several information panels exhorting walkers, cyclists and others to use the rights of way in this area: maybe someone should tell the farmers. The arctic wind had clearly deterred most locals from following this well-meaning advice, but we did stop for a chat with one who gave us a potted history of the striking Gilston Park House, now converted into what sounded like very desirable luxury flats (at least until the planned Harlow North development of 10,000 new homes goes ahead).
The final stretch alongside the River Stort was attractive and if I'd had more time I would have liked to explore the Honeymead Marsh Conservation Area, or even ventured along the river in the opposite direction. Harlow Mill could in fact be an alternative destination, although less convenient if only because fewer trains stop there.
Length: 13km (8.1 miles) Toughness: 1/10