Copped Hall

Copped Hall

Rising up in the distance - there it was - Copped Hall. On that hot June day I had strayed from the boundaries of London and out to Essex. Not far though - I had caught the London underground train to Epping. It pops out from the tunnel in East London and snakes its way out out in the open through the suburbs and into the countryside that surrounds the city.

From here, I began to walk, following a footpath through woodlands and alongside fields until I reached the gate where a lane lead up to Copped Hall.

And there it was - in the distance, appearing quite suddenly across the landscape. A photograph cannot do it justice - that moment when it first appeared was breathtaking.

It made the trek up here worth it - some of the pathway had been quite difficult to navigate, narrow, overgrown and with tree roots that would have been all too easy to trip over.

At last, I reached the top of the hill and Copped Hall. I stopped for a while to remember ...

I had first come here, like many people I knew, decades before. Copped Hall was derelict and there were pigs from a nearby farm rooting around inside its walls. This magnificent, historic house had been abandoned many years before and seemed to be beyond repair.

Now it is being restored to its former glory. When I visited the grounds on an open day the year before there was not only the house to admire - but also the gardens. The South facing walled garden was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

If there is a Heaven, that is what it must be like.

Standing in front of the house, I looked across the valley and saw that there was a ha ha on the edge of the terrace - a channel built around the edge of formal gardens to protect them from wildlife, sometimes with a brick wall which is hidden so that the view is not interrupted by a fence.

The view from the front of the house

Making my way back down the hill a different way was much easier - a relaxing and enjoyable walk on the outskirts of Epping Forest.