There are several different ways to reach Pole Hill - start at Chingford Station and walk along the rough, unmade road by the golf course. Or from the other side of the hill, find the police station and join the path next to it.
The unamed, unmarked path that leads to Pole Hill
Then leave the alleyway behind and continue along the path which is now running across a patch of grass - and leads to the top of Pole Hill and onwards across open space which goes on for miles and miles.
The path to the top of Pole Hill
The steep hill is worth the climb because from here it is possible to see all the way across London. A winter's day or in early spring is best, when the branches of the trees are bare.
The view in Spring
In the far distance lies Greenwich - the start of the Meridian Line which runs up and over this hill, dividing the East and West Hemispheres. An obelisk marks the spot here.
The view in Summer
Turn away from this vista though and the land suddenly falls away down steep banks of crevices that are thick with trees, these great rifts forming a dramatic backdrop.
This is the spot where over ten thousand years ago great floods at the end of the second ice age reached - bringing with it a different kind of soil so that the nearby Yardley Hill is covered with distinctly different plants even to this day.
The more gentle slopes are ideal for sledging down in the snow – and Pole Hill is also the destination for kite flying, high up here on a windy day.
It’s a viewing platform for New Year fireworks miles away in Central London with the sight of the Millenium Wheel lit up in the distance – a great place to celebrate the New Year when some of the intrepid locals wrap up warm against the cold and climb the hill.
Strange to think that this open green space was not so long ago the site of noisy and grimy industry. There were brick works with six kilns, an engine house, a hundred foot long drying house and other buildings – but there is no trace of it now that it has been returned to nature.
There is no sign either of the hut that Lawrence of Arabia built here when he came to find peace and solace amongst the freshness and greenery of the forest, a healing place after his time in the desert and before he wrote The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
A lone magpie pecks at the ground – one for sorrow. Perhaps an emblem of the tragic death of a hero who loved Pole Hill.
One for sorrow
All around the trees grow knotty and gnarled, creating a mysterious atmosphere that is at odds with the inspiring views from this natural rooftop of the capital city.
A hollow tree at the top of the hill
Pole Hill is the furthest point North in Epping Forest that lies within the boundary of East London and it is from here that a walk all the way down to Forest Gate through the forest can begin.
Chingford Station
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