This is the furthest I've walked since I was in my teens and I did the local twenty-mile sponsored walk two years running. It broke me back then because I went straight into it without any practice and my legs ached for days afterward. Thankfully, this journey has given me nothing more than my regular tight hamstring on my right leg - something I do need to get checked out if it persists for much longer. My feet ached afterward but after a shower, a good moisturising massage and a night's sleep they're back to normal.
Less than half of this route was on paths I know. The walk out past Lockmeadow Farm, past Hyde Lane and alongside the old canal was familiar if overgrown, a couple of fallen trees making progress difficult in places. Once I got to Thornton college I was in virgin territory and pushed through fields of rape and beautiful Small Tortoiseshell butterflies who were polite enough to pose for the camera. A couple of cow fields and tough-going rarely-walked rape fields lead to Beachampton for a short while until long grass cleared into driven track all the way to Calverton. It's a pretty village but there's only 100m of it before getting onto the bridleway. A lady and her huge, enthusiastic labrador both expressed surprise and curiousity at another person out walking and they were the only people I saw on paths for the whole journey. After passing them and a stile with footpath markers pointing the way, the path itself ran out and I was left to improvise to get to the main road near Kiln Farm.
Almost a kilometre along the redway next to the busy road, then almost a mile through Two Mile Ash, a nice enough estate with a small local centre, a couple of schools and two churches of differing denominations. I followed the footpaths under the road and up to the small lakes at Loughton which was populated by walkers, fishermen, cyclists and joggers alike. It was a nice walk through the park, the highway noise blocked out by my earphones. The route through Loughton wasn't particularly clear but a quick look at Google Maps on my phone showed me the way and I made it to the central train station within 3 hours 40 minutes, averaging around 3.3mph which I think is pretty quick. A work colleague says he could do it in two and a half hours; he's well known for taking the piss but I'm tempted to challenge him to a 'race'.
This is a lovely walk with some quiet moments, but its proximity to the road isn't in its favour. Finishing the walk with two or three miles of tarmac and concrete isn't the smartest thing for your feet, so I'd be tempted to do it in reverse in future.
