(S) Start at the entrance to Hutton Village and next to the old wooden bus shelter. Follow Hutton Village, signed Hutton Church, for 550 yards, staying on the LHS.
Immediately before, where the road turns sharp right, turn left onto a path through the trees, signed public footpath. After just a few yards, turn right onto a path with trees and wooden fences to the right and grassland to the left.
The path leads directly to the car park of All Saints Church. Go straight through the car park and onto a lane. Turn right along the lane and past the church. Immediately past the church turn left onto a footpath, signed "Footpath 94 to Bridleway 72".
Follow the footpath straight, with the wall of the churchyard to the left. Then straight for 350 yards on across a field (past a pond to the right at one point) and out onto a lane at the opposite side. Go straight across the lane and past a gate onto a wide track along the edge of a field signed "Bridleway 72 to Ingrave".
(1) After another 0.43 miles follow the track through a gap in trees, and then as it veers right along the edge of a wood to your RHS and a large field to your LHS. The track eventually turns left then right, always with the trees (Hall Wood) to the RHS and the field to the LHS and after 0.35 miles comes to a T-junction with a farm to the left (at 1.4 miles). Turns right and follow the lane / Bridleway 72 for 0.7 miles where it turns left at fingerpost.
(2) Turn left with the road. (Do not go straight on). 500 yards later we enter housing at Ingrave Village. Go straight for 140 yards, soon past Common Road to the RHS and then stay with Middle Road as it veers right and leads to a T-junction with the busy A128 (Brentwood Road). At the T-junction cross over the road, using the zebra crossing just to the right, and turn left along the pavement. After 50 yards, turn right into Thorndon Gate.
After 220 yards and immediately after passing the entrance to Thorndon Hall turn half right onto a footpath, signed "Public Footpath 42", and through some trees. The path soon passes in front of the large hall (Thorndon Hall, at 3 miles), to your RHS, and continues through the woods and deeper into Thorndon Country Park North. After 0.66 miles it comes out onto a wide track.
Cross over the lane onto a path/bridleway going west and signed "Wildside Walk". After 350 yards at the junction of footpaths, turn right and going north, for 175 yards. Then left at the junction of tracks and west along a wide path.
(3) After another 380 yards turn right (now going north and still Wildside Walk, at 4 miles) and follow the wide path to a car park. Turn left along the southern edge of the car park to the entrance gate of Thorndon Park North Countryside Centre.
(4) Go north to exit the car park and turn left along the road - you can use the verge. After 350 yards out through the main gate. Immediately after a black way-marker post, to the LHS and just before the main road, turn left onto a footpath through the woods (do not take the bridleway going sharp left). Follow the bridleway for 320 yards to a road (Childerditch Lane).
(5) Cross over the road and go just a few yards right to a crossroads. Turn left, signed Great Warley and staying on the LHS pavement along the road (Eagle Way). After another 0.45 miles go straight on along the LHS pavement past the entrance drive to the Ford Motor Company.
(6) After another 175 yards turn left into Clive Road - Ford is still to the left. Continue along Clive Road staying on the pavement on the LHS. At the junction, turn left along a lane behind Ford and after just 30 yards, then turn right onto a footpath into the woods of Warley Gap.
There is soon a choice of paths, take the one to the left. This goes downhill through the narrow woods. At points, there can be tree trunks deliberately laid across the path to stop cyclists going down here at speed. The trunks are low and are easily stepped over.
(7) After 0.65 miles the path comes out onto Magpie Lane. Turn right and immediately take the left fork, soon to a T-junction with Bird Lane (at 6 miles). In front is St Faith's Farm. Turn left into Bird Lane and immediately past St Faith's Farm buildings turn right to cross the road and cross a stile onto a footpath across a paddock with the farm to your RHS.
The path crosses a few more stiles and soon straight on and downhill along an enclosed path along the right edge of a field, with the hedgerow to your RHS and a fence to the LHS. The path leads to a footbridge over a stream and into another field. Continue straight across the field. At the opposite side cross a stile to follow the path straight on along the LHS of a third field.
(8) At the other side of the field, cross a stile to come out onto Great Warley Street (B186). Directly across the road is the Church of St Mary the Virgin. Cross over the road and turn left along the pavement. Continue south along Great Warley Street for 750 yards, staying on the RHS.
(9) Then turn right into Codham Hall Lane. Follow the lane for 720 yards to where it turns sharp left.
(10) To the right is a narrow lane (leading to Hole Farm) and in front is the entrance to a field, with a large green metal gate. Go around the gate and into the field. Then immediately turn right on a wide path, past a public bridleway fingerpost and along the RHS of the field.
Follow the bridleway around the edge of the field for 0.4 miles - it goes north, then west, then north, then west, then south. It eventually turns right through a gap in the hedgerow and to a footbridge. Once over the footbridge turn left.
Continue straight on the bridleway along the LHS of a field, then through a gap and along the LHS of a second field and going directly south. After another 100 yards a track to the left leads to Codham Hall Farm. Ignore this track and continue straight on and eventually into Codham Hall Wood. Continue straight on (south) through Codham Hall Wood, avoiding a footpath going off to the RHS. The bridleway soon crosses a footbridge (at 8 miles) and after another 240 yards leads out onto a road.
(11) Turn left along the road, the busy A127 is just to the right and running parallel. After 175 yards a road going off to the left leads to Codham Hall Farm. However, stay on straight past this and soon gradually climbing uphill to turn right over a wide footbridge/road bridge over the A127.
Once over follow the track as it turns right again and descends parallel to the A127, but this time west and back towards the M25. Follow the track for 500 yards to just before the busy A127 / M25 intersection. NOTE: The next bit can change from time to time as this area is the busy maintenance hub for the M25.
(12) Turn left to cross over the service road and follow the wide bridleway/track as it veers right, then as it turns left to runs parallel to and below the M25, and soon under a large electricity pylon.
(13) After half a mile the track reaches a railway line. Turn right to follow the path next to the railway and under the M25 (at 9.4 miles). Stay straight on, along an enclosed path, with the railway to the left and fields to the right. After 380 yards, follow the path straight on into a wood (Franks Wood).
The path is basically straight through, never going more than a few yards away from the railway. It emerges from the woods into an opening/field (a recreation ground called Cranham Playing Fields). Stay left along the southern edge of the field and soon next to the railway.
Eventually, at the far corner, turn left to cross a high metal stile, and cross over the rail line, using the level crossing, to another stile. This is mainline so please TAKE GREAT CARE and make sure no trains are approaching before crossing.
After crossing the stile, to leave the railway, go directly south and away from the railway along an enclosed track (at 10 miles). This soon leads through a gap and into a field. Go straight on along the LHS of the field and after 360 yards to the southeast corner of the field. Go through a kissing gate and out on a road (St Marys Lane).
(14) Cross over the road, veering to the left corner of the junction of the two roads. Here go through a wooden kissing gate and stay right onto a path going south along the RHS of Cranham Golf Course and parallel to Pike Lane.
After 420 yards (with a gate to your right) turn left to follow the path across the golf course – it goes along what was the original lane to Broadfields Farm. Soon past a lake to the right and after 250 yards veer right past a golf tee and to a wooden gate with a kissing gate next to it. NOTE: Please be wary of golfers as you cross and try not to distract them from their game.
Go through a kissing gate, to leave the golf course, and onto a lane. Turn left along the lane, towards Broadfields Farm (now the Thames Chase Forest Centre), and finish at the entrance to the Forest Centre.(E)
