"Spread
Eagle" is one of the oldest of the Epsom inns; its irregular front and
its position looking up the High Street make it more conspicuous than
the "King's Head," an equally old and very interesting hostelry facing
the clock-tower. Pepys stayed there in 1667, for in his diary of July 14
of that year he writes, "To Epsom, by eight o'clock, to the well; where
much company. And to the towne to the King's Head; and hear that my Lord
Buckhurst and Nelly (Gwynne) are lodged at the next house, and Sir
Charles Sedley with them: and keep a merry house." This house, next to
the "King's Head," is still standing. A little further along the street
is the large red-brick building known to-day as Waterloo House. It was
built about the year 1680, and was then known as the New Inn. The old
banqueting-hall it contains is divided up now, for the building is
converted into shops.

Durdans, the residence of Lord Rosebery, is about ten minutes' walk from
the High Street. One can see the house and grounds from the narrow lane
leading to the downs.

[Illustration: HIGH STREET, EPSOM.

Showing one of the famous inns which flourished in the seventeenth
century.]

EPPING FOREST

=How to get there.=--From Liverpool Street or Fenchurch Street.
Great Eastern Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Theydon Bois. Other stations near the forest
are Chingford, Loughton, and Epping.
=Distance from London.=--15 miles.
=Average Time.=--1 hour. Quickest train, 38 minutes.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 2s. 8d. 1s. 11d. 1s. 3-1/2d.
Return 3s. 9d. 2s. 11d. 1s. 11d.

Those who wish to ramble through Epping Forest off the beaten paths
should carry a compass and a map, so that they do not merely keep in one
section of the forest, and thus miss some of the tracts which are quite
distinct in character to others. The best days during the summer for
having the glades to one's self are Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, but
during the winter the whole place is left to the keepers and the
feathered inhabitants of the forest. During spring and autumn one also
finds that the grassy walks are left almost entirely alone, and at these
periods the forest is at its very best. Those who have only visited it
in the height of summer, when the foliage is perhaps drooping a little,
when the birds are not singing, and when there are traces of more than
one picnic party, have no idea of the true beauty of the forest. A herd