All Loughton bus routes are shown in the PDF map below.
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The Summaries of Loughton Bus Routes

Bus 20 - Debden Broadway to Walthamstow via Central Loughton and Woodford Green.

A double-decker London bus; Oyster cards are accepted. Runs every 10 to 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes at late evenings and on Sundays. Bus 20 timetable

Bus 167 - Debden Broadway to Ilford via Central Loughton, Buckhurst Hill, Chigwell and Gants Hill.

London bus; Oyster cards are accepted. Runs every 10 to 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes at late evenings and on Sundays. Bus 167 timetable

Bus 397 - Debden Broadway to Chingford (Chingford Mount).

London bus; Oyster cards are accepted. Bus 397 timetable

Bus 250 (and 240) - Debden Broadway to Waltham Cross vis Waltham Abbey.

Essex bus; runs every half an hour 7 days a week. On Sundays, service 240 with amended route is introduced. Buses 240/250 timetables and map

Bus H1 - Loughton Underground Station to Harlow via Debden, Epping and North Weald.

Essex bus; runs until about 6pm; no service on Sundays. Bus H1 timetable and map

Useful resources

http://www.essexpublictransport.info - Essex County Council transport information website with PDF town bus maps and very useful whole of Essex bus map.

http://www.travelinesoutheast.org.uk - Bus timetables and maps for every bus route.

As a Loughton resident for many years, I find it very easy to answer the question “Why do you live in Loughton?“. In this article, I would like to share my thoughts about the town where I live and persuade those, who are thinking of moving to Loughton, to do so.

I find it very easy to travel everywhere from Louhgton because of Loughton’s strategical location. It has two underground stations - Loughton and Debden. It takes about 20 minutes to get from Loughton to Stratford and 40 minutes to get from Loughton to Oxford Street. Inner London buses 20 and 167 go from Loughton to Walthamstow (where there’s a big market on all days except Sunday) and Ilford where there’s a big shopping centre. Bus 397 goes to Chingford. Essex bus 250 goes to Waltham Cross.

It’s very easy to get on the motorways M25 and M11 from Loughton. If travelling to London, M11 is the obvious choice with Junction 5 located to the east of Debden underground station. One cannot travel northbound directly from Junction 5 of M11 because there are no southbound exits, which is a pain. In order to travel to Bishops Stortford, Stansted Airport and further north, one needs to drive through Epping Forest to M25 and then join M11 at Junction 27. On M25 it’s possible to get to Heathrow Airport from Loughton in under 50 minutes if there are no delays.

One of the main advantages of Loughton is that it is very close to Epping Forest. The forest is huge - people can hike, ride bicycles, walk their dog and play games there. There are a lot of nice views from the hills in the forest. There is even a place with the perfect view of London City but it’s difficult to find. There are couple of pubs in the middle of Epping Forest, which can become useful if a person plans to spend a good part of the day in the forest.

There are several small lakes in Epping Forest where fishing is forbidden but some people do it. There are also many open spaces where people play ball games and take sun baths. In short, everyone can find something useful for himself or herself there.

I’ve always wanted to live in an area with the clean air. Loughton has an excellent air quality. That is because there are no big roads crossing the town and there are no air polluting factories nearby. Don’t forget the Epping Forest on the west of Loughton and fields on the east. M25 and M11 are located nearby but in my view they don’t affect the Loughton air quality because they are quite far away and the prevailing winds come from the east.

Recently my mate has told me that Loughton schools are high-rated. I cannot confirm this information at the time of writing this article but I believe it to be true because my mate has two kids and wants to get them into the best school in the region.

Loughton doesn’t have a shopping centre but there are lots of quality shops in Loughton where a person can technically buy everything. There are three supermarkets in the centre of Loughton: Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer. In Debden, there are smaller Sainsbury’s and Iceland. There are many shops that sell clothes and their number has increased over the last couple of years. There are well-known Halfords and Holland & Barrett, the branches of the following banks: Barclays, Halifax, Natwest and Nationwide (Lloyds TSB and Abbey in Debden). There are garden shops, barber’s and hairdresser’s, video renal shop and many more. That’s not including restaurants, cafes and fast food outlets. By the way, there’s no McDonald’s and Burger King in Loughton (I should add: at the moment - February 2009).

Loughton is a sport’s heaven because of its location and available outdoor facilities. That’s why there are a lot of clubs, schools and societies in Loughton. I knew a couple of them but typing “Loughton club” into Google has found so many in so many areas I simply felt proud of Loughton. These are Loughton Cricket Club, Loughton Gymnastics Club, Loughton Football Club, Loughton Golf Club, Loughton Camera Club, Loughton Mountaineering Club, simply Loughton Club and many-many more. In addition council’s Loughton Health Centre, which is now privately run, has a swimming pool, gym and various classes to keep Loughton residents feet if they wish to be fit.

Loughton is a good place to live in - and that’s a fact, not an advertisement. So if you’re thinking about moving to Loughton, come and see the town for yourself.

The first proper this winter snow has today finally arrived to Loughton. As usual, it has brought London underground problems and crawling cars on the roads with it but it’s worse it because it also brings a lot of joy to all people, especially to the children.

It happens every winter. It happens once. It never happens twice. I am still talking about the snow in Loughton. It may snow several times a year during the winter but the “real” snow that does not melt during the day only occurs once a winter. At least it has been during the last ten or so years when I’ve heard about this weird fact from someone and began to take notice.

I don’t know what this phenomenon is caused by but it’s true. So I think that it would be possible to check the effects of the global warming just by checking the snowfall in Loughton i.e. how many times a year, what’s the intensity, what’s the the duration and so on.

But in the meantime I’m very glad we have the snow this year because it is something different. With the snow on, the town looks different too - it looks peaceful and clean, relaxed in a way, like on the old postcard. It’s a shame I have had to go work today and won’t be able to photograph this “rare adverse weather condition”, which turns out to be just fine, nice and unusual weather effect. Someone would not get to work today, some won’t get to school, some would feel colder than usual and someone’s car wouldn’t start, but all in all it’s fun, isn’t it? I mean to see the snow in your own Loughton, not Sweden when on the weekend getaway and not France when skiing there on the mountains.

So enjoy it if you can and while you can - go for a walk in the woods with kids, start a snowball fight, build a snowman. You can also clean your car and your driveway from the snow. All in all, be outside, breathe the clean snowy air and simply be happy because in Loughton it’s only snowing properly once a year.