Follow the Paws Outdoors

06/05/2026

The Essex Pyramids! AKA the Bartlow Hills!

📍 Bartlow Hills
🗓 Visited: 21st October 2024

Technically these wonderful mounds were in Essex but the boundaries have since changed and are now, Cambridge. And of course they arent Pyramids at all, but its the closest were gonna get in the UK! 😅

• Parking at The Three Hills Bartlow Limited (CB21 4PW)
• Dog friendly & open Wed–Sun (closed when we visited, but parking still ok)

• Roman burial ground from the 1st century AD
• Largest group of Roman burial mounds in Northern Europe
• Originally 7 mounds – 3 accessible today
• Tallest mound = 50ft (highest in Britain!)
• Wooden steps to the top (Bert couldn’t wait to climb them 🤍 even after his liver cancer diagnosis… nothing was holding him back!)

🥾 Walk Route
• Turn right from the pub
• Follow pavement up and round to the right along Camps Road
• Continue until you reach the church
• Go through the churchyard, bearing left around the church
• Follow the signed footpath
• Walk up and over the disused railway line
• Emerge into the hills
• Keep the mound with steps on your left
• Walk across the grass to a path leading down to the road
• Turn right and follow the road back to the pub

🍽 Food Stop
📍Nearby Linton
• Lunch at The Linton Kitchen (30 High St, CB21 4HS) – dog friendly
• Also nearby: The Dog and Duck (Greene King, dog friendly)
• Both pubs open Wed–Sun (closed Mondays when we went!)

Make sure you save this walk for later and do let us know if you give it a try!

02/05/2026

Sam took Ducky on his first walk yesterday! So cute!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DX2KQ_ptPkB/?igsh=Z2F3Njdyd213ZG96

01/05/2026

Chigwell Country Walk (3 miles)

We downloaded the Chigwell Country Walk from the Epping Forest Countrycare leaflet (worth a Google for facts and map), but as it doesn’t include written directions, I’ve shared them below

This is a lovely 3-mile circular walk mostly around farmland, with horses grazing nearby 🐎
✔️ No stiles
❌ No toilets

Route:
Start at Courtland Drive (IG7 6PN)
➡️ Turn right into Meadow Way (look out for the giant oak tree 🌳)
➡️ At the crossroads, turn left onto the footpath along Rookery Lane (wall on your right)
➡️ Turn right onto High Street – you’ll spot the church and the former Ye Olde King’s Head, featured in Charles Dicken's Barnaby Rudge as 'The Maypole' - the name taken from the pub in Chigwell Row
➡️ Turn right onto the London Loop footpath through a horse field to Vicarage Lane
➡️ Turn right, then left through a hedge clearing across the field to Green Lane (Gunnels Farm)
➡️ Turn right down Green Lane to meet Vicarage Lane on a tight bend
➡️ Turn right, cross at White Cottage, and follow the field edge to the railway track
➡️ Pass the bridge (don’t go over it), turn right, and follow the path back to Courtland Drive

Refreshments:
For a delicious dog-friendly lunch, we drove over to The Two Brewers Chigwell in Chigwell Row, open from 11am and perfect post-walk stop.

Let us know if you give this walk a try and tag us in your post when you do!

01/05/2026

27/04/2026

25/04/2026

📍 Location: Horizon Park, Braintree
📅 Date Visited: 15th April 2024

A Little Note Before We Begin...
I’ve been wanting to share this walk for a while, but since losing Otis and then Bert, it’s felt very difficult to revisit some of these memories. I’m now ready to share these special walks with you again, and this one is a lovely place to start.

Sat Nav: CM77 7XQ
What3Words: fixed.panther.yield

Free parking is available, although the car park isn’t very large. If spaces are limited, I’d recommend parking at Great Notley Country Park and walking through, as Horizon Park backs directly onto it.

Horizon Park itself isn’t a huge walk, but it has lovely clear, accessible paths that make for an easy and enjoyable stroll. Because it links with Great Notley Country Park, you can easily extend your walk if you’d like something longer.

One of the standout features of Horizon Park is the collection of beautiful monumental sculptures by Yukako Shibata, which make the walk feel really unique and worth visiting.

☕ Refreshments at Cafe Plaza

Dog-friendly and a perfect brunch stop after your walk. We visited for brunch and had the dirty hash browns — absolutely delicious.

Toilets are available at Cafe Plaza.

This was such a lovely walk with good food, easy paths and the option to extend it. Do let us know if you give it a try!

19/04/2026

📍 This Week’s Walk: Belchamp Walter

📌 Sat Nav: CO10 7BQ
📍 What3Words: ///gazette.slopes.shine
🚗 Parking: free in lane outside Red Lion pub
🥾 Distance: 5 miles
🚪 Stiles: No
🐑 Livestock: No
🌿 Terrain: Open farmland, grassy paths & shady tree-lined tracks.
🚻 Toilets: Pub / none on route
☕ Refreshments: Red Lion for drinks / Henny Swan nearby for food

🐾 Walk Review:

This week we visited Belchamp Walter, in the north of the county, following a route from the book Obscure Essex — and it was an absolute delight.

A very pretty village with lots of character, this walk passes two churches, open farmland and lovely shady tree-lined paths, making it ideal for a sunny day stroll.

If you remember Lovejoy, you may recognise Belchamp Hall. Another highlight was the fascinating folly, built in 1871 to resemble a castle. Its narrow structure creates the curious illusion of changing shape depending on where you stand — and we even noticed it seemed to alter sound too.

You'll also cross a landing strip and we found a hatched egg on this walk, the boys gave it a good sniff!

We started and finished at the Red Lion pub for a drink, then drove a short distance to the Henny Swan for a delicious pub lunch outside in the sunshine. Perfect ending.

Would we do it again? Absolutely.

Make sure to save this one for later 🐾

17/04/2026

Yesterday we met up with our pals Buddy and Bella at Weald Country Park.

They have the new Pete Wicks walking trail which you can download via the Explore Essex website.

It was a lovely surprise to see the bluebells in the wood, where we carefully took some photos.

Weald park is a mix of cut grass, meadow and woodland with a lake and deer enclosure. Please keep your distance from the geese and swans with the dogs. But you can buy food and deer food from the cafe.

They do a good selection of food and drinks and I can definitely recommend the gluten and dairy free farmhouse cake and ice coffee! It's open 10 - 3.30 weekdays and 9.30 - 3.45 at weekends. Dog son leads welcome inside. And there are picnic tables too.

There are several car parks to choose from, you will need to pay and display unless you have an Explorer Pass.

Sat Nav : CM14 5QS
What3words: sleep.tells.slurs
Miles: 2
Refreshments: Yes
Toilets: Yes
Livestock: Yes

18/01/2026

Dagnam Park - The Manor , made up of Hatters Wood, Fir Wood, and Duck Wood, it's famously known for its abundance of deer. You may have seen them on David Attenborough's recent programme on the BBC. If you want to see deer walking freely then this is the place to go!

Unlike Bert and Otis, Sam and Ted have shown no interest in the deer making this now a very pleasurable walk. There are deer EVERYWHERE so if you are unsure if your dog may chase them make sure to keep them on the lead.

What I love about The Manor is its history.

Volunteers of Dagnam Park have been excavating the old house, which originated in the 18th century and was destroyed in 1948. The archaeology is currently exposed, and other remnants to see include the cast iron gate posts and the round pond.

There are several ponds at this nature reserve as well as ancient woodland and grassland and if you're listening you'll notice a different birdsong... Ring-necked Parakeets.

This is definitely worth a visit if you like photography and history, and wildlife!

Parking is free, at the end of Settle Road, RM3 9YA - just be aware of school street restrictions

There are no toilets or refreshments

🐾 And if this post has inspired you to follow our paws, please do tag us on your adventures!

29/12/2025

Hornchurch Country park perfect for a 'clean' winter walk!

🐾 2.5 miles starting from Albyns Farm entrance (RM13 7YD) we followed the main path to the visitor centre where we grabbed a coffee before heading back (note - visitor centre is NOT dog friendly) toilets here too.

The country park was once an WW2 Airfield and there are plenty of pill boxes and information signs to explain more about the history of this site

There is also a memorial to those who lost their lives during the covid pandemic, near the car park where we began our walk

If starting your walk from the Squadrons Approach car park you'll also discover the children's play area and spitfire near the visitor centre

Have you been or is this walk on your list to try?