The Flitch Way Country Park stretches almost 15 miles along the track of the former railway line between Braintree and Bishop’s Stortford
which opened in 1869. Although the last passenger train ran in 1952, goods continued to be carried until the end of 1971. Most of the track
was removed in 1972 with the final stretch towards the Bishop’s Stortford end going in 1974.
Originally purchased by Essex County Council in 1989 as a possible alternative route to the A120, the site opened as the Flitch Way with the
first Ranger appointed in 1994 and provides a safe, traffic-free environment for walkers, cyclists and in some sections, horse riders.
A variety of landscapes and habitats can be found along the Flitch Way ranging from open stretches affording views of farmland on either
side of the track to enclosed areas such as the Dunmow Cutting.
This walk starts at Braintree Station, at the start of the Flitch Way and finishes at Rayne where there is a Booking Hall café and a Railway
Carriage Museum. A very enjoyable walk with beautiful countryside in abundance.