Essex places to visit in autumn under an hour from Romford

As the temperature drops and the leaves on the trees begin to change colour, these country spots really come into their own.

Saffron Walden

Saffron Walden(Image: Saffron Walden Tourist Information Centre)

Named the best place to live in the whole UK by The Sunday Times in March this year, Saffron Walden is just less than an hour's drive from the centre of Romford according to Google Maps.

Visit Essex describes Saffron Walden as a "delightful medieval town" with a "rich heritage" and "charming" outdoor spaces.

Essex Life highlights the Saffron Trail as one of the "best countryside autumns walks" across England.

The trail starts in Saffron Walden and passes through fishing villages, woodlands, rivers and countryside, with the walking classed as easy/moderately easy for all sections.

If you don't fancy the walk, the village itself is said to be "reinventing" the high street by The Sunday Times and offers numerous pubs including The Eight Bells, a 16th century boozer or The Cricketers which was once owned by Jamie Oliver's family.

Roydon

River Stort in Roydon(Image: Google)

Roydon, in the north of the Epping Forest district, is a 45-minute drive from Romford but also has the luxury of its own train station on the West Anglia mainline, with trains linking the village to London Liverpool Street and Cambridge.

The village has two pubs: The White Hart and the 200-year-old New Inn - both located in High Street.

With autumn bringing unpredictable weather, The New Inn claims it can cater for all conditions with "warming log fires in winter, and a lovely beer garden and play area for the summer".

Roydon offers a range of autumnal walking options from playing fields and allotments to the canal ways of the nearby River Stort.

Stock

Stock Windmill in Stock(Image: Google)

With "gorgeous" gastro pubs, "beautiful" countryside and its own windmill, Stock in Chelmsford is only a 40-minute drive from Romford.

Naming the village one of the best places to live this year, lifestyle magazine Muddy Stilettos highlighted Stock's "gorgeous" pub selection including The Hoop, The Harvard Inn, The Bear and The Bakers Arms.

Amongst the "beautiful" surrounding countryside, Muddy Stilettos labelled the Grade II listed Stock Windmill as the village's "best kept secret" and "well worth a peek" along an autumnal walk.

Nazeing

The Nazeing Triangle(Image: Google)

Nazeing in Epping Forest is a 45-minute drive from Romford.

One of the village's "major selling points" is its proximity to "beautiful countryside and nature reserves", according to researchers Area Hive.

The Nazeing Triangle is deemed "perfect for weekend walks" whilst Clayton Hill Lake offers a longer route.

The lake has a 4.5 average Google rating and one person wrote this time last year: "A beautiful place to go for walks, be with a furry friend or on your own, the lake was stunning, lots of ducks and other birds."

There's the option to finish an autumn walk with a pub stop with choices such as The Crooked Billet, The New King Harold's Head and The Black Swan.