location:
address:
103 York Hill, IG10 1RX
phone:
N/A
how to find it:
The Gardeners is a bit of a stroll from Loughton tube (and uphill). Still, exit onto Station Road and walk to the end, onto the High Road, and turn right. The forth on the left should be York Hill. Follow it round and the pub will appear on the right.
click here for a larger map
Only in Loughton can you overhear people waxing lyrical about material possessions being unimportant before getting into their Maserati, but the Gardeners Arms is a good place to witness such wonderful irony, as we did on a recent sunny Friday afternoon visit. Sat right on the edge of London and at the brow of York Hill the Gardeners Arms offers a traditional pub experience and affords excellent good views from the limited seating outside. The interior is a mix of refurbishments, which seems to have halted sometime in the 70s, so there's patterned carpet, velour seating and a gantried bar. A couple of reasonable ales are on offer, along with a good lunchtime and evening menu. The crowd was pretty mixed too, notwithstanding the above, but most people here are locals and regulars. Service was friendly, too. If you fancy a hilly stroll around the outskirts of Epping, this pub might provide a good refreshment point, but be warned it closes at 3pm, the way pubs used to.




real ales