It looks as if an Olympic legacy will be a better southern ending for the Lea Valley Walk. Indeed it will mean a return to the original climax to the route.

The Lea River Park, as the River Lea south of the Olympic Park is being called, appears to have escaped government cuts.

At present the official Lea Valley Walk route from Three Mills is down the Limehouse Cut to the Thames. At first it followed with much difficulty the river to East India Dock Basin which is much nearer the river’s confluence with the Thames than Limehouse Basin.

East India Dock also has a magnificent view of the Dome which is an Olympic venue. The plan is to complete a continuous path by the River Lea by Olympic Year 2012 and proposals for the £15m project have now been submitted to Newham and Tower Hamlets Councils.

A lift and steps are to be built on the Lea Valley Walk just south of Three Mills to allow walkers to access Twelve Trees Crescent Bridge.

The left bank has a wide path already and just round the bend beyond the Royal Mail centre it will be possible to cross back over the water on a new bridge.  Here on the right bank a new park is planned. Further on a pedestrian and cycle tunnel will all walkers to pass under the very busy East India Dock Road.

The climax of the 2 mile Fatwalk, as the new path is called by planners, will be East India Dock which has a DLR station nearby.

London Thames Gateway Development Corporation boss Peter Andrews says: “We plan to overcome the challenges and obstacles such as roads and railways which have been making some of the most picturesque parts of London as accessible as buried treasure.

“The Fatwalk and the Lea River Park project will open up East London’s riverside to Londoners, creating a truly special place, while unlocking the immense regeneration potential within.”

LDA deputy CEO Peter Bishop adds: “With planning permission, the work on the Fatwalk can now go ahead and we can see the planned Lea River Park start to take shape. The Lea River Park is part of plans to build a lasting Olympic legacy in east London before the 2012 games.”

It’s the Spring into Summer Walk London weekend coming up and on Saturday 22 May there is a long stretch of the Lea Valley Walk included in the programme.

The ambitious day starts at Cheshunt Station just outside London at 11am. A leader will take the party twelve miles south on the Lea Valley Walk down to Three Mills near Bow. The estimated time of arrival is 4pm.

Anyone joining in the free walk is advised to bring a picnic although a lunch stop is planned at the Princess of Wales next to Lea Bridge.

I am not leading this one but I think it’s the longest Walk London has tried in the Lea Valley. The weather forecast is good.

See pages 88 to 119.

The Camden New Journal has a scoop this week when reporting the death of Anna Wernher.

The 85 year old is the last link with the great days of Luton Hoo.

The mansion, now an hotel, was bought in 1903 by her grandfather Sir Julius Wernher who rebuilt the house.

Anna was Sir Julius’s granddaughter. Her father was the second baronet Sir Derrick Julius Wernher who died in 1948.

He was succeeded by his brother Sir Harold who was married to Zia, daughter of a Russian Grand Duke. The couple, Anna’s uncle and aunt, welcomed the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh for a weekend every November.

Nearby East Hyde churchyard has the striking Wernher mausoleum and it is expected that Anna will be buried there.

See pages 31 and 34.

The lock keeper’s cottage at Hardmead Lock near Ware is for sale.

Hetherington’s has the details of the 4 bedroom house which is advertised at £699,995.

See page 68.

Sunday 9 May is the start of Rogation-tide when it is traditional to beat the bounds of the parish.

The New Lammas Lands Defence Committee invites us to join residents of the parishes of Leyton, Walthamstow, Hackney Marsh and Clapton to walk around the former local Lammas Land in this part of the Lea Valley.

‘Lammas land’ is land where people have rights to graze between Lammas Day in August and either Candlemas on 2 February or the Annunciation on 25 March. Hay is grown in summer.

The boundary marks are beaten with willow branches so there will be willow-stripping at the Hare and Hounds in Lea Bridge Road at Leyton from noon.

The 4 mile walk starts at 2.15pm outside the Lea Valley Ice Centre in Lea Bridge Road -near the Lea Valley Walk.

See page  108-110.

An Invisible City gathering had a slide show by Peter Marshall of his Lea Valley photographs spanning thirty years.

His site has some pictures which are now in the Museum of London collection. In 1982 he found water at the source.

House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has compared himself to Sir John Wenlock.

He is quoted in a profile in last weekend’s Times magazine as claiming that Wenlock, Speaker 1445-6, is “believed to be shorter than I am…”.

Sir John, later Lord Wenlock, can be found depicted in a window at Luton parish church. His home was probably Bedford’s oldest brick house alongside the airport.

See pages 26 and 37.

A surprise at the Paul Sandby exhibition are three large pictures of Luton Park showing ancient trees, cows and deer.

This parkland is today known as Luton Hoo and Sandby’s snapshots were painted about 1765 when the house was the home of former prime minister Lord Bute.

The exhibition is at the Royal Academy where the latest RA magazine features a Sandby Luton painting.

The show has come to London from Nottingham where it was assembled last year to mark the bicentenary of Paul Sandby’s death. He is best known for precise paintings of Windsor and London’s Bayswater Road which have been lent by the Queen.

The Queen and Prince Philip of course spent their honeymoon at delightful Luton Park which is now the Luton Hoo hotel.

Paul Sandby is at the Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly; open daily from Saturday 13 March until Sunday 13 June; admission £9 (conc £8).

See page 31-32.

Forman’s, the smoked salmon firm on the River Lea, has opened a gallery.

It is called the Smokehouse Gallery and tonight saw the launch of the first exhibition. East Meets West is described as “a diverse collection of street and graffiti artists from Eastern Europe and East London”.

H. Forman & Son is a family owned salmon smoker established in 1905. It is now in the hands of fourth generation Lance Forman whose smokehouse was in Marshgate Lane where the new Olympic Stadium is being built.

Fortunately he found this nearby site across the water on Fish Island with a fantastic view of the stadium.

The pink Forman’s building, designed by Phil Hudson is itself now a landmark on the Lea Valley Walk between Hackney Wick and Old Ford Lock. The architect claims that it is in the shape of a fillet of salmon.

This is, like Tate Modern, a gallery where the building is as much an attaction as the art. Tonight’s launch was a delightful evening with smoked salmon nibbles and an opportunity to see the restaurant downstairs which has an even bigger window for viewing the towpath and Olympic Stadium.

The view is obviously better in daylight. The exhibition is open 12 noon to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays and 5pm-9pm on Fridays until the Sunday 21 March; admission free. The entrance is in Stour Road E3.

See page 114.

The towpath is now closed just south of Old Ford Lock and Bow Flyover.

This is not caused by the Olympics but the construction of Crossrail which will not be ready for 2012.

After Old Ford Lock you cross the Old River Lee and pass under the Northern Outfall Sewer, better known now as The Greenway. As soon as you have passed under this low bridge you now go left away from the river and up a slope to the top of The Greenway.

Turn right and enjoy the view of the Olympic Stadium on your left. Ahead is the excellent Container Cafe (9am-4.30pm). But just before the cafe bear right down a slope to Pudding Mill Lane where the security guard will direct you across the road. Turn left to reach the main road. Go right to rejoin the Lea Valley Walk opposite McDonald’s.

The diversion will remain in place at least until December.

See pages 115-116.