LSW 54 Havering-Atte-Bower to Marks Gate, Starting At
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Havering-atte-Bower to Marks Gate, starting at LSW the summit of Havering 54 Start The Green, Havering-att e-Bower — RM4 1PL Finish Whalebone Lane N at Billet Road — 180m ENE of RM6 5QR Distance 5.02km Duration 1 hour 2 minutes Ascent 21.6m Access Occasional buses (not Sunday) at start of section. Buses at end of section. Buses at Clockhouse Lane en route. Facilities Pubs near start of section. Shop on Collier Row Road en route. 54.1 SW corner of the Green, Havering-att e-Bower. 0m 54.2 Through churchyard; R then L onto Wellingtonia Avenue, then forward 1550m on woodland track; L at fi ngerpost to Pinewood Avenue, where R; L on Clockhouse Lane to rbt. 54.3 R along Firbank Road; L following river to Collier Row Road; R (R pvt) to 2300m rbt, where cross to L pvt. 54.4 Continue on L pvt, trending left on Collier Row Road; L on Whalebone 1090m Lane N to junction with Billet Road. © 2017-21 IG Liddell London Summits Walk 54 – 1 This section begins on the green in the village of 54.1 Havering-att e-Bower, alongside the houses at its south-western corner. The stocks on the green are at the most easterly point of the London Summits Walk route. There are nine buses a day (one every ninety minutes) from Romford on the 375 route, but there are none on Sundays. The quiet village of Havering-att e-Bower may be the fi nal outpost of north-east London., but it boasted a royal residence from the time of Edward the Confessor until the late seventeenth century. The royal guest-book would also have included William the Conqueror, Edward III, Henry VIII, Elizabeth, and (the last monarch to reside there) Charles I. The present church was built out of a chapel of Havering Palace, which occupied the space between the church and today’s Riding School. The Bower in the village’s name indicates the use of the palace as a residence of the Queen Consort or Queen Dowager: it was used in this way from the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine to that of Jane Seymour. Marie de Medici, Queen of France, is said to have taken one look at the dilapidated state of Havering Palace before decamping to Gidea Hall, to the north-east of Romford. Havering Country Park covers 40ha of the policies of Havering Palace, and contains fi ne tree plantings, notably the Wellingtonia (redwood) plantation. Rev Joseph Pemberton, who became a breeder and developer of hybrid musk roses after thirty years’ service as an Anglican clergyman, lived his whole life in Havering-att e-Bower. Go through the gate from the Green into the 54.2 churchyard. Pass beneath the tower and go out of the churchyard by its west gate. Turn right and then, at the Riding School, turn left into Wellingtonia Avenue (you can guess the tree species here). Havering-att e-Bower church At this point, section 20 of the London Loop, running anti-clockwise, joins from the right. The reason why the Loop cannot be an alternative route from Chigwell Row to Havering-att e-Bower all the way is so that we may use its path in the opposite direction here, avoiding the need to double back. It also misses out on an area of much local activity and a very wet part of the Loop at Lower Park Farm. 54– 2 London Summits Walk © 2017-21 IG Liddell Continue down the lane, which becomes a broad track. This allows the walker to revel in a gentle descent through the mature woodland of Havering Country Park, for 1.2km. You will reach a point where, from the right, a bridleway ascends from the direction of Bower Farm. Here, at a fi ngerpost, the London Loop continues its anti- clockwise journey straight ahead. Take the path to the left, which soon trends right to pick up a south-westerly line, before bending back to the left (i.e., southwards) to meet a broad cross-path: this is Pinewood Avenue. Pinewood Avenue begins, at its eastern end, by the Orange Tree: the route from the Green to this point via the pub is an alternative to the main London Summits Walk route. Turn right (westwards) along Pinewood Avenue, passing a well- fortifi ed corrugated iron building of modern construction on your right. After about 400m, at the edge of the wood, you will come to a crossing path. This is Clockhouse Lane: the London Summits Walk route turns to the left onto the lane. Here, section 20 of the London Loop uses the two paths avoided by the London Summits Walk route. In a clockwise direction, the Loop comes up to face you, and turns left to go north on Clockhouse Lane. Continue down Clockhouse Lane towards suburbia, which is heralded by typical edge-of-town small-scale enterprises such as car-breaking. The lane leads down to a mini-roundabout at a bus terminus. Here, the 365 bus to Romford and beyond starts its journey by lumbering up the hill from the stop ahead: this is the more direct of the two bus routes to Romford. The slightly longer 294 route leaves to the right from the stop across Firbank Road. In each case, the basic frequency is about one bus every twelve minutes, except on Sundays and Bank Holidays, when each service is reduced to The path alongside run every twenty minutes. the River Rom Cross the road at 54.3 the roundabout and go to the right, along the left-hand pavement of Firbank Road. After 300m (having crossed Carter Drive), you will re-cross the River Rom by a street bridge. On the far side of the river, a metal kissing-gate on the left gives access to a mown © 2017-21 IG Liddell London Summits Walk 54 – 3 path along the riverside. Follow this riverside path for about 1.2km (crossing, as you go, the short street called Bacon Link) to a footbridge. This bridge takes you to the left, over the river and into a park. Turn right and follow the right-hand edge of the park to its exit onto Collier Road Row, with a petrol station to your left. Basic supplies may be obtained by diverting to the shop within the petrol station shop, or at a convenience shop which lies just ahead at the roundabout. Turn right onto Collier Row Road, making your way 54.4 along the right-hand pavement to a mini-roundabout: cross to the left-hand pavement of Collier Row Road at a refuge on the approach. Keep to the left of the triangle of grass, with a car-wash courtyard on your left, continuing ahead on Collier Row Road. If you fi nd yourself walking down a road with only a right-hand pavement, you are on Hog Hill Road, heading back towards Chigwell. Collier Row Road continues past various commercial and other establishments (one, a care home, has a Coal Tax post in the car park) to reach a large roundabout. Cross the entrance to the City Pavilion (an “event venue”) on the left, and turn south on Whalebone Lane North. After about 200 metres, Billet Road goes off to the right. The junction marks the end of this section. There are two bus stops visible on Billet Road. From the one on the left, the 62 route will take you to stations at Chadwell Heath (TfL Rail), Becontree (District Line and Hammersmith and City Line) and Barking (District Line, Hammersmith and City Line, Overground and TfL Rail services). The 362 service will take you, from the stop on the right, close to Grange Hill station (Central Line, Hainault loop) via the main entrance to Hainault Forest, near your earlier entry to it at Chigwell Row. 54– 4 London Summits Walk © 2017-21 IG Liddell.