Car-free adventures aroundEnfieldNorth London
London’s most northerly borough is full of surprises. In the heart of an urban jungle, home of the world’s first ATM, you can explore flowering gardens and fresh water supplies, rich farmland and riverside walks. Here are five rural adventures on the fringes of England’s capital city…
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1. Stroll along the New River
“Neither new nor a river.” People talking about the New River often repeat this phrase – it’s an aqueduct, first built in 1613 to bring drinking water to London from springs in the Hertfordshire countryside and still supplies 8% of London’s water. Now there is also a varied walking route running along the New River and through nearby suburban streets. The Victorian writer Charles Lamb recalls in his Essays of Elia that, when he was young he: “paced the vales of Amwell to explore your tributary springs, to trace your salutary waters sparkling through green Hertfordshire, and cultured Enfield parks.”
- The full 30-mile route stretches from Hertford to Islington and is surprisingly tricky to find, in places, as it can’t always run next to the water.
- There are some lovely sections of the walk close to Enfield Town station. Sample a mile of the route with a good peppering of pubs and cafés.
- Turn left out of Enfield Town station and stroll along the road, past the plaque on Barclay’s Bank, where the UK’s first cash machine opened (in 1967) and the vibrant Art Town café.
- Just after Trinity Church, turn right into the park, with the New River on your right.
- Continue along an attractive pedestrian walkway, between houses and water, soon reaching the Crown and Horseshoes pub, on a bend in the river’s former route.
- Look out for baby coots and moorhens in season, and for swans carrying their cygnets.
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2. Gardens galore
Continuing north along the New River, you arrive at three lovely gardens and a beautiful stately home. The grounds of Forty Hall, a Jacobean mansion in a huge landscaped park with a great café, are circled by way-marked, wooded trails that lead past lakes and vineyards (yes, really!) You’ll see pigs and sheep in the fields and can explore a series of walled gardens at Forty Hall, Myddelton House and Capel Manor.
- The quickest way to get to all three of these hidden treasures is from Turkey Street station (overground, Zone 6).
- Simply turn right under the railway and keep straight along Turkey Street, under the main road, across the New River and another road to enter Myddleton House, which is free and beautiful.
- Capel Manor nearby has a maze of different gardens.
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3. Visit Forty Hall
An extraordinary Jacobean Mansion in lovely grounds with ponds and woodland, Forty Hall is the jewel in Enfield’s surprisingly sparkly crown. Free to visit with a great café, it feels almost too good to be true. A relatively new network of trails through the estate takes you past the farm and vineyard.
- From Myddleton House (see 2 above), turn right along the road outside the entrance. Just before a brick bridge, turn right through a gate and left over a footbridge.
- You can head left here to have lunch at Forty Hall’s Nice Green Café or turn right and right again to follow the Forty Hall Loop (with its purple waymarks) for two miles first, past farmland and forest.
- Through a door in the corner of a walled garden, you will finally reach Forty Hall by this route and the café is on your left.
- Leaving the estate, turn left onto the road past the church. Just after the school, turn right onto a tarmac path. Keep straight and follow the London Loop signs back to Turkey Street.
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4. Walk the London Loop from Cockfosters
Surrounded by woods and rolling countryside, Enfield is a bit of a hub for long distance paths. One fabulous local hike takes walkers from Cockfosters tube station at the north end of the Piccadilly line, along the waymarked London Loop to Enfield’s Turkey Street Station.
- This 8 mile walk heads across Enfield Chase, once a royal hunting forest and beautiful place in any season. There are great views, patches of ancient woodland, and a series of useful pubs and cafes, like the Robin Hood in an area called Botany Bay, just over half way to Enfield. The bus 313 stops outside the pub every 20 minutes if you decide to head straight to Enfield Town from here.
- The second part of the route passes through Clay Hill and the lovely estate of Forty Hall (see 3 above) with the option of detouring to one of the gardens (and cafes) mentioned earlier.
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5. And on to Epping...
Heading further on, eastwards from Enfield, the London Loop reaches Chingford on the edge of Epping Forest, more former royal hunting grounds, five miles from Enfield Lock station. This section has views across the reservoirs that dominate the Lee Valley.
- Not far from Chingford Station, with views across Epping Forest, are Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge and the neighbouring Butlers Retreat café in a restored weatherboarded barn and open from breakfast until (early tea time).
- To get to Epping Forest from Enfield without too much walking, hop on the good old bus 313 from Enfield Town station. From Chingford Station, where the bus route ends, simply turn right up Ranger’s Road and follow it out into open country.
- Follow Good Journey’s directions to Epping Forest and River Lee Country Park.
