Day 6 - part 2 Enfield Lock to it should have been Chigwell

As soon as my new friend had gone, I decided to stop my gadgets for part 1 and start again for part 2 of the day's efforts. That way nothing would tell me how long I'd really been walking for!

This walk took to familiar territory of my youth - days out as a child, school trips, places my school friends used to live etc. Even the wedding of one of my cousins was in Enfield and her Dad managed Enfield FC for a while. The first place of interest was the lock itself, slightly scruffy but it looked like the lock-keeper's cottage is being refurbished so better times ahead maybe.

Not sure if they'll fix that slant though

The lock was about to be operated

The name Enfield isn't associated just wtih old motorbikes there's also the rifle that took over from the muskets that the British Army had used for a long time. There are some old buildings around the lock which reflect this history. The lock is on the Lee Navigation which is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea. No problems with the spelling then. This is reservoir territory too, the nearby King George's and William Girling reservoirs supply over 25% of London's water (if you don't buy it in a bottle grrr).

Distant reservoirs

I did sit down in one of the parks to have my lunch. No-one passed at all and I wasn't even pestered by any wildlife for crumbs! This is a part of London that has history and interest. The route went through Gilwell Park which is the international centre for the Scout movement. The adult toilets were very clean as you'd hope, and free. I thought there might be a statue of Baden-Powell somewhere but he may have been hiding. There was this scout by Robert Tait McKenzie, presented to Gilwell Park by the Philadelphia Council Boy Scouts of America as a Symbol of International Brotherhood May 7th 1966.

The Boy Scout

Nearby was this non-tree. Lovely daughter didn't know what I meant when I quizzed her on the picture.

Can you tell what it is yet?

More wandering along and I came across a circus on Chingford Plain. Wow, not seen one of those for years, and not been to one for decades! I wonder who goes to them and what the performances include these days? I remember being quite young and going to a circus on Lea Bridge Road and having my photo taken with a lion cub. Makes you think now.

Russells International Circus

Shortly after, a real highlight of the week so far - Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge. Please g**gle it. I don't think it was open when I was young but it's been renovated and turned into a museum. It's one of the few places we would go to as a family on a Sunday afternoon for an outing. We would run around in the woods of Epping Forest and there was this magical, tudor building still standing there. The building was used for the Queen to be able to watch the hunting in the forest below, the two upper floors used to be open. Legend has it that she would ride her horse up the stairs. I dived inside for a quick look and was not disappointed.

The floors are all enclosed now

Tudor fire extinguishers

Not sure how the deer got in

A lot of the stairs are original

It all went a bit downhill after that, I'll blame it on being tired. I managed to make an error of 180 degrees which meant I ended up at Buckhurst Hill station instead of Chigwell. Not the end of the world, but not the plan. Slight better position on the Central Line too!