ITS TOPOGRAPHY
31
sight of Grimston's Oak, so named after the well-
known patron of cricket, a fine tree standing alone
in a circular clearing. Following the ride, at the
end of which Connaught Water is seen, the Ching
Brook, which flows into it, is reached. From this
point the Warren Hill, across which the route
lies, is seen in front. From the top of the hill
there is a fine view of that part of the Forest
which we have traversed, and as Loughton Station
is visible from this point, further directions are
needless. Except where the Bury Path is crossed,
which is muddy after rain, I can conscientiously
describe this walk as a dry one.
FAIRMEAD, FROM WARREN HILL.
FROM CHINGFORD TO HIGH BEACH
On quitting Chingford Station, the visitor at
once enters the wide, treeless, grassy space, de-
scribed in the last route, and sees beyond it the
verge of the great thicket which extends from
here, without a break, to High Beach, and, indeed,
but for the intersecting roads, to Epping. This
Fairmead Thicket is a fair sample of the denser
parts of the Forest. The great majority of the
trees (consisting chiefly of oak, hornbeam, and
beech) are pollards, but among them there are a
considerable number of straight-grown "spear"
oaks, of 100 to 150 years' growth, which have