Epping Forest Walks & Things to Do from the Park

Epping Forest gives you 6,000 acres of ancient woodland with walking tracks and bridleways running in every direction. The forest is also the reason there's no road noise at Willows — you genuinely can't see or hear a road from anywhere on site.

Within a short walk you'll find Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, a Tudor hunting grandstand and one of the forest's most photographed landmarks; Dick Turpin's cave and old haunts; the ancient Saxon camp deep in the woods; and Connaught Water, a favourite easy circuit for an hour's stroll.

The Owl is barely a hundred metres from the gate — close enough that an evening walk and a pint is a routine rather than an outing. The King's Oak is the other local, both proper country pubs rather than anything themed or polished.

Lee Valley White Water Centre, just down the road at Waltham Abbey, has a coffee shop alongside its Olympic-standard rafting, which makes it a decent wet-weather option.

Waltham Abbey Gardens and the Abbey ruins — where King Harold is laid to rest — are a short drive away and easily worth a morning. West Essex Golf Course sits directly opposite the park for anyone who fancies eighteen holes on a day off.

And because central London is only twelve miles away, with Enfield, Edmonton and the neighbouring towns closer still, a day in the city is entirely practical from a forest pitch.

For horse owners, the forest's bridleways add up to around 6,000 acres of off-road hacking directly from the yard — no boxing up, no roadwork to get started. There's also a floodlit ménage on site for schooling through the darker months.

It's a small, secure, private yard rather than a big commercial livery operation, which suits owners who want quiet year-round access to their horse and to the forest.