Waltham Abbey and Epping Forest Ride

Meet at Cutty Sark Gardens cycle up the Lee Valley to Waltham Abbey and Epping Forest. We will follow the Regent's Canal to Victoria Park and then cross over to Stratford to cycle up the Lee River to Waltham Abbey, where we will take a break to look at the Abbey Gardens - there can be few places in the UK which have such a rich history (http://goo.gl/a4o0vQ). We then cut across to Upshire. As its name suggests, there is a bit of climbing that we have to do here, but most of the ride is flat. At Upshire we join a well made-up cycle path which takes us to High Beeches, in the heart of Epping Forest. We then continue on to Chingford (Zone 5), where we catch an Overground train back to London. This is the route we will take from the Lee River to Chingford: https://goo.gl/JozNVD This ride is based on a ride that Francis Sedgemore used to lead (http://www.sedgemore.com/2013/02/cycle-ride-announcement-lovely-lea-epping-forest-explorer/). However, the ride is now under new management and is no longer being run by the South East London Commissariat for Social Cycle Rides Planning (aka the Dog & Bell Crew). There are rumours that King Harold, of 1066 fame, is buried in Waltham Abbey. It must be true because it says so on the entrance sign to the town. However, according to this link http://goo.gl/9g0X7G, Harold Godwinson did not die at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, as generally believed, but lived on for another 40 years as a hermit near the abbey which used to stand on the site. That's one in the eye for the history books! (punch line courtesy Nick) For more details see .https://www.ctc.org.uk/event/ride/waltham-abbey-epping-forest-ride