There are several pleasant ways to do this, but on this occasion I chose a three-mile dogleg via Epping Forest rather than two miles direct across the fields. I blogged these walks in 2009 and 2015 respectively, adequately at the time, so best not repeat myself. But here are several things I noted along the way in 2026 (and you can take "oh this is really nice" as read).
Theydon Bois - a quick summary
Rare example of a village with its own tube station, in this case on the Central line. The Underground's fifth least-used station, likely because the local population is barely 4000. Famously the only place on the tube without any street lights. The name rhymes with 'Boys' (whenever I blog about Theydon Bois this is generally the only thing people want to comment about). Used to have four pubs but The Railway Arms and Sixteen String Jack closed in 2011 and 2016 respectively and are now flats. A really nice place to live. The most famous resident is West Ham's boss David Sullivan who lives in a £15m mansion up the far end (and is likely very depressed this morning).
Best shop in the village?
This is hard to judge on a Sunday but contenders include Greens the Butchers, what used to be Premier Valet Services and the proudly independent Watch Service Centre. The busiest is almost certainly the Tesco Express by the Queen Victoria. A good spread of restaurants exists for those who don't fancy schlepping into Loughton. My favourite is definitely the Theydon Bois Bakery, a proper baked-on-the-premises treasure with sunburst windows, stripy awning and a giant gingerbread man standing in the window. Alas on this occasion the front display of loaves and sticky cakes was dark and the morning crowd were all round the corner gossiping outside the Brick Lane Bagel Co, which I fear will one day be the last dough-house standing.
What's the big news locally?
A plan to build on the Green Belt has locals up in arms, so much so that it gets five separate mentions in the latest village newsletter. Redrow Homes have applied to build 150 homes in two fields to the east of the railway line, whereas present housing is only to the west. Only government changes to the planning regime could override the existing Metropolitan Green Belt designation, but every available argument is being thrown at the plans in an attempt to quash them dead. Arguably this agricultural land should be preserved for future generations but also arguably land immediately adjacent to a tube station is a no-brainer for development. Indeed an aerial shot in the parish council's latest submission is supposed to show the downsides, but I couldn't help noticing that the existing village swallowed up considerably more fields, thus NIMBY residents are essentially arguing against the reason they were able to live here in the first place.
How many forest gates are there?
I've long been fascinated by the numbered signs seemingly placed at every entrance to Epping Forest, having found several during lockdown around Whipps Cross and Wanstead Flats. This one's at Genesis Slade car park, specifically number 32, Genesis Slade being the deep rivulet that flows (in damper times) from the Forest into Theydon Bois. I was thus thrilled to discover that Derek Seume has been diligently cataloguing every gate and sharing his discoveries a) on a Google mapb) in a spreadsheetc) on the Instagram account @eppingforestgates. I now know that Gate 1 is at Rye Hill, the northernmost of all (just outside Harlow), while Gate 197 is at the southern tip at Rabbits Road/Manor Park Triangle. Additional gates have been added since the original designation, the highest of which is believed to be Gate 217 (Staples Road), but should you ever discover the location of gates 13, 30, 41 or 74 do please let Derek know.
Can you hear the M25?
No, it's brilliant, it's entirely inaudible even as you're crossing it. That's because, famously, when M25 engineers reached Bell Common they dug a cut and cover tunnel and reinstated a cricket pitch on the top of it. The full tunnel is 470m long, marked only by a slim gap in the Forest, and Epping Foresters Cricket Club play centrally enough that no racket from either end intrudes. I should have arrived mid-match but alas Sunday's game against Hatfield Heath was cancelled. Instead I was intrigued by the equipment at the nets being sponsored by Cracking Safes, a company founded by a retired police officer which sells un-nickable cabinets to rich folk with valuables they want to keep. It says a lot for the local population that they might indeed want to buy a premium safe including "watch winders" to keep their prestige wristwear ticking over, even in storage. Less silly mid-off, more deep extra cover.
Why does this hotel look familiar?
It's The Bell at Epping and it was in the news for weeks last summer as the site of serious anti-immigrant opposition. Formerly a coaching inn and then a hotel, The Bell was first used to house migrants in May 2020 with total numbers topping out at 138. The flashpoint arrived after one resident was arrested for sexual offences in the town, at which point the angry brigade turned up and incited further offences of their own. Epping Forest council lost their battle against the High Court two months ago and all was quiet outside yesterday, indeed I initially assumed the place was empty. But security guards were watching me as I peered through the metal railings, these liberally plastered with lots of little flag stickers (as indeed is every other bit of public infrastructure hereabouts). Take it as read that every lamppost in Epping appears to be flying at least one St George's flag, and perhaps a Sports Direct Union Jack too.
When is TG Jones closing?
No specific date has yet been given but last week the former WH Smith on Epping High Street was suddenly covered with big yellow 'Store Closing Down' and 'Everything Must Go' notices. I ventured inside to find reductions on everything from bestsellers to Post-its and boxfiles to fibretips. This year's Guinness Book of Records (rrp £22) was £6, now £4.80. A box of 30 Christmas cards was £1, now an incredible 70p. It must be gutting for staff watching unfillable gaps appearing on the shelves, and will be gutting for Epping residents trying to buy newspapers and magazines forthwith. But I also noted the store nextdoor, the Epping Mini Market, whose frontage advertises DRINKS SWEETS VAPES SNACKS because that's all most people really want to consume these days.
How bad are the buses out here?
It says a lot that the bus stops in the high street are served by 18 different routes but only six of them run more than twice a day and only three of them bother on Sundays. Admittedly the Central line is much more frequent but if you want somewhere off-tube your options are rather more limited. Local company Central Connect don't do useful overview maps either, sorry. Above is the splendid vehicle operating on route 339 which connects to the Epping Ongar Railway, generally summer weekends only. I'd seen a different 339 at Leytonstone earlier in the day, 10 miles distant, which got me wondering which Home Counties bus route is closest to a TfL route with an identical number. I'd like to suggest it might be Central Connect route 20 [Harlow ↔ Ongar] which here in Epping is just 2½ miles from TfL route 20 [Walthamstow ↔ Debden], unless of course you know different.
