More as a resource than direct comment, here's my view of the escape routes from east London out of the M25
Epping Road - Long been the mainstay of East London escape, still one of the most practical. Traffic has theoretically been slowed down (as if!) but you are on a two lane road with a paint cycle lane that corrals you into a really shitty road surface on the edges. I'm not sure that the route south is worse than the route north, it always feels that way but (a) you are downhill and so faster and (b) at the end of a ride mostly. On the positive side, cyclists are a fixture of the road these days so the worst driver behaviour (and it was really shit at one time) is now better
All the routes around the Epping road have surprising hills, and typically shit traffic.
Moving around,
this route and
this route feed you in to Toot Hill, which is good, but (a) getting there tends to involve Abridge Road, which is not cycle friendly and in school run and motorway blockage time can get positively unpleasant
This is my favourite exit point, riding out through Lambourne End. Generally more pleasant than the other alternatives. From here you can go left to Toot Hill or carry on. At this point you are not in the direct line of fire of any large town.
The next
two crossing points are similar but have little advantage, slower to get to and don't open out other routes. As ever, narrow lanes with the probability of coming across Range Rovers on their way to the golf club etc.
Noak Hill is the next, not that drastic a hill from most approaches but by this time Brentwood traffic is a factor, my preferred route for Brentwood, but it isn't quiet, it isn't nice.
Moving further round, there is less and less reason to be going there, as it doesn't lead to anywhere
(although bimbling around some of that countryside isn't too shabby)
