The Olympic whitewater centre next to Waltham Abbey will close on Sunday 16 October in preparation for the London 2012 games. It is open free to spectators and visitors daily until that closing weekend. The cafe makes a good stop on the walk between Cheshunt and Waltham Abbey.

Last Thursday evening was not sunny in Broxbourne. Indeed dusk seemed to come two hours early. So I was surprised to find the ‘mobile’ cafe by the water in Mill Lane still open. The cafe has been renewed as a semi-permanent structure and is now open daily from 9am to dusk. There is even some […]

This weekend’s free Autumn Ambles run by Walk London includes at Saturday morning Lea Valley walk from Tottenham Hale down to Limehouse.

Plans have been announced for a water bus service from Limehouse Basin, where the Lea joins the Thames, to Tottenham Hale. This is for Olympics year but maybe it could prove popular enough to continue as a legacy.

This Wednesday 14 September is Holy Cross Day which has special meaning in Waltham Abbey. The church there was once famous for its ‘miraculous’ cross known to King Harold who was defeated at the Battle of Hastings. The cross was ‘miraculous’ because having been found in Somerset it was loaded on to a cart whose […]

I spent Thursday evening at Myddelton House where Jim Lewis was launching his latest book. Regeneration and Innovation: Invention and reinvention in the Lea Valley explores the Lea Valley’s industrial and technological firsts. A large section is devoted to Tottenham Hale where, since the book went to press, the August riots began. It was interesting […]

There has been a major overnight fire next to the towpath just upstream of Rye House Bridge. The huge pile of pallets caught fire causing the smoke to close the station and railway line. Trains are being replaced by buses between Hertford East and Broxbourne.  

The formal launch the floating towpath near Bromley-by-Bow is planned for the week commencing Monday 19 September. The London Thames Gateway Development Corporation with its colleagues at British Waterways are aware that this floating construction is part of a seamless north-south walk where walkers do not now have to take their lives into their own […]

There will be an attempt to clear the Floating Pennywort which is covering the water around Tottenham. The plant can reduce water oxygenation levels and even cause flooding. On Sunday morning 3 September volunteers working with Thames 21 will gather on the towpath by Tottenham Lock to manually remove the plants from the water. Those […]

The first Great British Cucumber Festival, supported by the salad growers of the Lea Valley, takes place at Waltham Abbey on Saturday 17 September. It also has the support of the National Farmers’ Union and aims to highlight the Lea Valley Growers’ contribution to the local economy. At least 62 million cucumbers, as well as […]