Additional information
Terrain
- Grass and woodland paths, field paths, some road
Landscape
- Ancient woodland, lakes, meadows
Dog friendliness
- Some open space, but must be on lead most of way
Parking
- Free car park off Main Road opposite library and inside Danbury Country Park
Toilets en route
- Main Road car park; car parks at Danbury Country Park (which also have facilities for disabled visitors)
About the walk
Danbury is surrounded by delightful woodland, much of it common land, and is the largest area of woodland in Essex after Epping Forest. Steep hillocks and heathland soil have prevented intensive arable farming, and as a result its environs are now designated nature reserves, owned and managed by... various conservation agencies including the National Trust and the Essex Wildlife Trust. These areas pack a huge variety of habitats into a relatively small space, and if you're a lover of woodland walks, then a stroll around Danbury is bound to appeal. Diminutive Danbury The village is perched on a hill, 350ft (107m) above sea level, on the A414 east of Chelmsford. The slender spire of St John the Baptist Church is visible for miles around, especially if you're approaching along the A12 from London. This superb setting compensates for what Danbury lacks in historic buildings – apart from the church, there is little to detain you in the village. From place to palace On this gentle walk you'll discover some characterful 18th and 19th-century farms and cottages, and the rather splendid 16th-century Danbury Palace (off limits to the public) inside the country park. Sir Walter Mildmay, founder of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, built the house you see today and called it Danbury Place. But when it was sold to the Church of England in 1845 for £24,700, and occupied by George Murray, 96th Bishop of Rochester, it became known as Danbury Palace, reflecting its change in status. In the 13th century aristocratic families went deer hunting in the park, which had originally been given to Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex, by William I. Today the country park has three delightful duck-filled lakes, picnic areas and impressive specimens of beech and oak. Beside the palace there are beautiful ornamental gardens filled, in summer, with flowers from Asia and the Americas, while herbaceous perennials attract butterflies. Your journey's end is at St John the Baptist Church, in a location where Iron Age farmers once lived. Having risen to these comparatively dizzy heights, look southwards where the views are both impressive and extensive, and you soon understand why the Saxons fortified this position. The Normans, following in their footsteps, built the church and everyone was happy for a time. But, when Henry VIII decreed that the monasteries should be dissolved in 1536, church furnishings throughout the land were sold to avoid confiscation. The story goes that an enterprising medieval DIY enthusiast used much of the wood from the church to kit out The Griffin inn across the road, and until a few decades ago, part of the rood screen could still be seen above the bar.
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