12/10/19 - London Countryway Stage 20 - Theydon Bois to Brentwood

Distance - 14 Miles
Start - Theydon Bois
Finish - Brentwood
Geocaches - 5
Pubs - The Brewery Tap, Brentwood
Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18, Stage 19

On every odyssey, there's a moment that becomes a test of faith, leaving you questioning what the hell you are up to.

This was the moment for the London Countryway - a day of foul weather, ploughed muddy fields, disappearing footpaths and only the most gastro of pubs for potential refreshment.

Still, it ends on a high point in the Weald Country Park and I can look back on the very pleasant previous 19 stages with a fondness, hoping Tilbury can save the day for the grand finale :-)

For a walker - light drizzle is the very worst of weathers.   Not so bad that you want to don top and bottom waterproofs - so you head off, only for the intensity to gradually increase without you really noticing.   By 5pm, I was soaked through to my pants, unsuccessfully trying to keep warm in an overly air-conditioned Virgin train carriage.

Theydon Bois Underground Station is left and a badly overgrown footpath leads to some terrible terrain to the M11.   Des De Moor explains how Blunts Farm had been using the land illegally for commercial waste and worryingly tells that I am finding it better condition now than it once was.

Just what you need in the Drizzle - overgrown damp foliage 

Pleased to arrive at the M11 Underpass

I'll keep the next few miles to a minimum - after a pleasant enough section on an old roman road, there are a lot of very muddy, recently ploughed fields.    I'm following Dick Bowman's GPX and the footpaths around Hill Hall and Colemans farm are no longer there.   Hedges exist on the exact point he previously walked through.   Photo wise - and this is true for the majority of the walk - all I have to bring you are churchs.   There are a considerable amount, surprising when you consider how lowly populated the areas are.

Stapleford Tawney - possibly the most pretty

Stapleford Rivers - about 6 miles in - offers the first potential refreshment stop but I've carrying too much mud to even consider soiling their gastro pub.    More interesting is the detritus of the former old white bear next door.   Now a private residence, its sounds like it had a chequered history as a motorcycle gang hang out before falling to economic unviability.   The pub sign is dumped in the back garden before the River Riding, along with the usual assortment of junk, kept by the landed gentry.

Gastro Woodman - Not right for me today

How the Next Door White Bear looked in 1911

The former beer garden reminding me I could have been watching the new Breaking Bad Film on Netflix

After another couple of miles of mud and misery, I kind of regret not cleaning myself off and using the Woodman.   The only other available stop is Alec's in Navestock Side.  What used to be a classic country pub opposite the village cricket pitch is now Essex's finest fish restaurant.   Pray for the local's who have lost their community asset.

The day is saved by Weald Country Park.   Only a short section but the trees are magnificent in their decrepitude and who wouldn't want to meet an antlered Stag, apart from Richmond Park's Fenton.

What - No Mud in a Country Park

Lovely trees

Jesus Christ Fenton - Its a Stag

Weald Country Park is that lovely that they don't want you to leave, building a high fence around it and providing little signage to where the gate is to escape.   When you do, its all roads into Brentwood.

I chose the Brewery Tap for the only refreshment, declining the Good Beer Guide Entry on the other side of town.   This was just too close to the station to ignore.

Station down the road

No idea of why its called the brewery tap - its not associated with any brewery and mainly appealing to Carling drinkers.   There were three real ales on and when I tell you that Doom Bar was the best choice, you'll know Greene King featured for the other two.

But who can complain at a pub closest to a station that you can use an Oyster Card to get into the smoke that only charges £2.50 a pint.