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 Forests Way was devised in 1977 by the West Essex branch of the

Ramblers Association The Ramblers' Association, branded simply as the Ramblers, is Great Britain's walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path network. T ...

to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The path provides a connection between three forests in west Essex:

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the Lond ...

Hainault Forest Hainault Forest was a large wooded area in the English counties of Essex and Greater London which was mostly destroyed after 1851. Popular outrage at the destruction of most of the forest was an important catalyst for the creation of the modern ...

and

Hatfield Forest Hatfield Forest is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Essex, England, east of Bishop's Stortford. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site. It is owned and managed by the National Trust. A med ...

. It is a circular path centred on Epping. It extends almost to

Stansted Airport Stansted Airport is an international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Uttlesford, Essex, northeast of Central London. As London's third-busiest airport, Stan ...

in the north, to Roydon to the west, south to Chigwell, and east to Fyfield. It is mostly located in Essex but a short section extends into Hertfordshire. Several long distance and local paths intersect or follow the same route as the Three Forests Way for part of their course. The circular Three Forests Way can be joined at several locations and walked in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The route goes through both rural and urban landscapes. These include fields, pasture and woodland, along rural roads as well as through rural villages and built-up areas. Part of the way is along the tow-path of 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 ...

. The path is waymarked in both directions by a circular marker with three trees and the text ‘3 Forests Way’. There are some accessible railway stations on the west side of the path, and some villages have bus services.

Route

The Three Forests Way passes through the following locations (the order assumes starting at Chipping Ongar in an anticlockwise direction):Ordnance Survey, OS Explorer 174, 175, 183, 195

Chipping Ongar Chipping Ongar () is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of the county of Essex, England. It is located east of Epping, southeast of Harlow and northwest of Brentwood. In 2020 ...

High Ongar High Ongar is a village and civil parish in the County of Essex, England. It is located a mile (1½ km) north-east of Chipping Ongar, 8 miles (13 km) west of Chelmsford and 6 miles (10 km) north-west of Brentwood. The village o ...

, Fyfield, Claydon's Green,

Abbess Roding Abbess Roding is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Abbess, Beauchamp and Berners Roding and the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. The village is included in the eight Hamlet (place), hamlets and villages called The ...

, White Roding,

Hatfield Broad Oak Hatfield Broad Oak (also known as Hatfield Regis) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The village is approximately south-east of Bishop's Stortford. Near the church of St Mary the Virgin is former Benedi ...

, Hatfield Forest Country Park,

Great Hallingbury Great Hallingbury is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 713. The parish includes the hamlets of Bedlar's Green, Hallingbury Street, Howe Green, Sta ...

Little Hallingbury Little Hallingbury is a small village and a civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. Geography Little Hallingbury parish is on a high rise of ground and contains the small settlements of Gaston Green, Wright's Green and Mott' ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Roydon, Broardley Common, Nazingwood Common, Epping Green,

Upshire Upshire is a village in the civil parish of Waltham Abbey in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. The centre of the village is on Horseshoe Hill (a minor road), on which is The Horseshoe public house, and the church of St Thomas, a Grade ...

, Epping Forest,

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 ...

Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Londo ...

Chigwell Row Chigwell Row is a small village falling within the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located 12.9 miles (20.8 km) north east of Charing Cross. It has a London (020) area code, is served by London Buses route 150, and the closest London ...

Hainault Forest Country Park Hainault Forest was a large wooded area in the English counties of Essex and Greater London which was mostly destroyed after 1851. Popular outrage at the destruction of most of the forest was an important catalyst for the creation of the modern ...

Lambourne Lambourne is a civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. It is located approximately 4.5 miles (7 km) south of Epping and 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Romford. It covers an area of , and in 2001 its population was ...

Abridge Abridge is a village in Essex, England. It is on the River Roding, southwest of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Epping Forest and in the parliamentary constituency of Brentwood and Ongar. It is part of the civi ...

Theydon Mount Theydon Mount is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the county of Essex, England. The village is notable for the Grade I listed Elizabethan mansion, Hill Hall. History The name "Theydon" is thought to mean 'valley wh ...

Stanford Rivers Stanford Rivers is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. The parish, which is approximately west from the county town of Chelmsford, contains the village of Toot Hill and the hamlet of Little End, both set ...

, Chipping Ongar

Adjoining paths

The Three Forests Way adjoins several long-distance paths: * Epping Forest Centenary Walk (a 15-mile (24 km) walk from Manor Park to Epping) intersects at Epping Forest *

Essex Way The Essex Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath long, along footpaths and roads in Essex, England. The trail starts in Epping in the southwest, crosses Dedham Vale and Constable country to finish at the port of Harwich on the Stour est ...

(an 81-mile (130 km) east to west walk from Epping to

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

) intersects at Chipping Ongar * Forest Way, Essex (a 25-mile (40 km) walk from Loughton to Hatfield Forest Country Park) intersects from Loughton to Epping Green * 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 Hatfield Forest Country Park *

London Loop The London Outer Orbital Path—more usually the "London LOOP"—is a 150-mile (242 km) signed walk along public footpaths, and through parks, woods and fields around the edge of Outer London, England, described as "the M25 for walke ...

(the 150-mile (240 km) London Outer Orbital Path (LOOP)) intersects at Chigwell *

St Peter's Way St Peter's Way is a long-distance footpath in Essex, England. The path leads from Chipping Ongar to the 7th-century Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall at Bradwell-on-Sea. It is waymarked, and shown on Ordnance Survey mapping. The path St Peter' ...

(a 41-mile (66 km) east to west walk from Chipping Ongar to St Peter-on-the Wall at

Bradwell-on-Sea Bradwell-on-Sea is a village and civil parish in Essex, England; it is on the Dengie peninsula. It is located north-north-east of Southminster and is east of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the District of Maldon and in th ...

) intersects at Chipping Ongar * Stort Valley Way (a 30-mile (48 km) circular walk along the Stort Navigation Sawbridgeworth and Roydon) intersects from Sheering to Roydon

References

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