The family friendly section is the western off-road towpath up to Harlow Town.
Leaving Arc 1 at the bridge near Fieldes Weir Lock on NCN1, a well-engineered Sustrans track 0.5 passes through gravel pit lakes before joining the Stort Navigation 0.7 to Roydon 1.7 (the pretty village lies to the south).
Continue on the towpath, passing through a few permeable barriers to Harlow Town 4.7, then leave the canal and take the track R that crosses the railway by a slightly alarming ramped bridge 5 and join the off-road cycle provisions through the last of Harlow New Town, but after Old Harlow 6.7 follow delightful and well-signed NCN1 lanes to High Laver, after which at the T-junction 12 L for Stortford and Cambridge, and R for Moreton, where there is a second junction; straight on for NCN1 to Chelmsford, R for Spinoff 1-2-3 the Outer Essex Arc…
