42 EPPING FOREST
effect of having been mown with a scythe. Monk
Wood is a conspicuous object. Its billowing mass
of tall trees rises like an island above the rest.
Some sections of the slope of Baldwin's Hill,
in the immediate foreground, were cleared of
trees a few years ago, with a view to enclosure. A
marked effect of this denudation is seen at one
spot near the end of the ridge. The whole
hillside, which is composed of viscous clay, no
longer supported by the roots of trees, has com-
menced to slip down towards the stream below,
producing cracks and fissures and other features
in close imitation of an ice stream in the Alps.
By Golding's Hill Ponds turn to the left along the
Loughton and Epping roads, passing Monk Wood
on the left. At the Wake Arms six roads con-
verge. The one we have traversed leads from
Loughton j the next in order, on the left, from
Woodford and London; the third from High
Beach ; the fourth from Waltham Abbey ; the fifth
from Epping ; and the sixth from Theydon. Fol-
low the third to High Beach ; or the fourth, for
half a mile, as far as Woodredden Hill, and where
the road begins to drop down the hill, turn to the
left along the Verderer s ride, which also leads to
High Beach. From High Beach either follow the
road to the "Robin Hood,"and thence by the road
known as the Earl's Path to Loughton, or, im-
mediately after passing Paul's Nursery, turn to the
left by a beaten track, which is a short cut through
a picturesque piece of beech-wood to the " Robin
Hood," and from thence take the Earl's Path.
ROUTE Q
THEYDON STATION TO WALTHAM BY COPPED
HALL GREEN
4 miles to the Abbey; 5 miles to the Station
Follow the road along the north side of the
green, and, immediately after passing the church,
turn to the right, in a N.N.W. direction, across