Walking to Stapleford
Hi SoftwareDev,
I did my PPL at Stapleford 2006-2010 before I had a driver’s licence. I would not walk along the road from Abridge regularly, it is narrow and cars go fast. I used to get the tube to Theydon Bois then walk along the beginning of the road to Abridge, over the bridge and up the hill, down the other side, under the motorway and up another hill, then, on the left before the house there is the beginning of a public footpath and you can walk across the fields popping out about 200m from the airfield entrance. Invest in an 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey map and you’ll be able to see the way. It takes about 40mins from Theydon Bois. You still have to walk along the road a little but it’s much better than for a long stretch. I found the walk really pleasant and a great way to settle yourself and mentally run through the lesson ahead. I have great memories of walking along in the sunshine saying aloud “Brakes are off, Undercarriage is down and fixed, Fuel is on and sufficient for go-around, Landing light is on, DI and compas are aligned, suction is positive and ammeter is charging, T&Ps are green, carb heat out no rough running, after 10, back in no subsequent rise in rpm, hatches and harnesses secure”. In fact every time I do the downwind checks I think of the path through the fields. It really helped to say out loud over and over again. You can take a bike on the tube after Leyton and after 9:30am so I did that a lot too. You could even lock a low value bike up at Theydon and then you don’t need to bring it on the tube every time.
Great you’re going to do the PPL
Matt