The Stort Valley Way is a long-distance footpath in west Essex, England. The 30-mile (48 km) circular path is centred on

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

and the

Stort Navigation The Stort Navigation is the canalised section of the River Stort running from the town of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, downstream to its confluence with the Lee Navigation at Feildes Weir near Rye House, Hertfordshire, Rye House, Hoddesd ...

. It is waymarked, and named on

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

mapping.

The path

The name Stort Valley Way refers to the

River Stort The River Stort is a river in Essex and Hertfordshire, England. It is long and flows from near the village of Langley to the River Lea at Hoddesdon. The river's name is a back-formation from the name of the town of Bishop's Stortford. The 1 ...

, which rises near Langley, Essex, and is navigable from

Bishop’s Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the M11 motorway and Stansted ...

downstream (the

) to its confluence with the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

near

Rye House Rye House may refer to: * Rye House Cobras, a defunct speedway team * Rye House (Litchfield, Connecticut), a Registered Historic Place in Litchfield, Connecticut *Rye House Plot, a plot to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother, Jam ...

. The way is a circular path centred on Harlow, together with villages to the south and south-east. The circular walk can be started at several locations and can follow a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The route goes through both rural and some urban areas. These include fields, pasture, water meadow and woodland; along rural roads and through villages and some built-up areas. A significant part of the walk is along the

towing path A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport w ...

of the Stort Navigation. The path is waymarked in both directions by a dark green circular marker with a white or yellow arrow, a dragonfly and the text ‘Stort Valley Way’. Roydon, Harlow Town,

Harlow Mill Harlow Mill railway station is on the West Anglia Main Line serving the eastern part of Harlow in Essex, England. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between and stations. Its three-letter station code is HWM. Th ...

and Sawbridgeworth railway stations are close to the walk, and some villages have a bus service.

Route

The Stort Valley Way passes through the following locations (the order assumes starting at Roydon in a clockwise direction):Ordnance Survey, Explorer 174 & 183 Roydon, Harlow,

Sawbridgeworth Sawbridgeworth (traditionally or , now also ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Essex. It is east of Hertford and north of Epping, Essex, Epping. It is the northernmo ...

Lower Sheering Lower Sheering is a residential dormitory area based on Sheering Lower Road, in the civil parish of Sheering, and the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. It conjoins the Hertfordshire town of Sawbridgeworth at the north-east of the Essex t ...

Sheering __NOTOC__ Sheering is a civil parish and village in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. Sheering village is situated north-east from Harlow, south of Bishop's Stortford and north-east from London. The Stort Navigation to the west ...

, Matching,

Matching Tye __NOTOC__ Matching Tye is a village which forms part of the civil parish of Matching, in the County of Essex, England. It is 2.3 miles (3.7 km) east of Harlow, 2.9 Miles (4.8 km) south-east of Sawbridgeworth and 6.3 miles (10.4 km ...

, Loyter’s Green,

Magdalen Laver Magdalen Laver is a village and a civil parish in the Epping Forest district, in the county of Essex, England. Magdalen Laver is east of Harlow and of close proximity to the M11 motorway. Magdalen Laver has a village hall and a church called S ...

Hastingwood Hastingwood is a hamlet in the North Weald Bassett civil parish of the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. The hamlet is centred on the junction of Hastingwood Road, which runs southwest to the A414 road and the Hastingwood Junction 7 of the ...

, Latton Bush, Rye Hill, Epping Green, Bumbles Green,

Nazeing Nazeing ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest District, Epping Forest district, in Essex, England. Within the parish are the separate settlements of Upper Nazeing, Middle Nazeing, and Lower Nazeing. The Prime Meridian passes to ...

, Nazeingwood Common, Roydon Hamlet and Roydon.

Adjoining paths

The Stort Valley Way adjoins three long-distance paths: * Harcamlow Way (a 141-mile (227 km) figure-of-eight walk from Harlow, Essex to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and back) intersects from Roydon to Sawbridgeworth *

Three Forests Way The Three Forests Way is a long-distance footpath in Essex and Hertfordshire, England. The 59-mile (95 km) circular path passes through three forests in west Essex. It is waymarked, and named on Ordnance Survey mapping. The path The Three ...

(a 60-mile/97 km circular walk linking Epping, Hatfield and Hainault forests) intersects from Epping Green to Roydon Hamlet, and from Roydon to Sheering * Forest Way, Essex (a 25-mile (40 km) walk from

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

to Hatfield Forest Country Park) intersects from Latton Bush to Nazeingwood Common

References

{{reflist Long-distance footpaths in England Footpaths in Essex