Opposition to flats being built on Essex Wharf at Lea Bridge is continuing to gather strength. Essex Wharf is opposite Middlesex Wharf where the Lea Valley Walk leaves Walthamstow Marsh to the cross the river and pass the bottom of North Mill Fields. Four blocks across the water from the Fields would spoil the rural […]

The amount of weed in the Lea in Hackney as you approach the main Olympic site has caused comment long before the Olympic Games were known to be coming to the Lea Valley. Now a study by Thames21 and University College London suggests that this is caused by a very high level of phosphates. A […]

Olympic refurbishment is now being felt as far north at Waltham Cross where £2.6m is being spent on improving the railway station. This is of course because of its proximity to the Olympic white water centre but it will be a lasting legacy for those on the Lea Valley Walk wanting to break off at […]

Stanstead Abbotts old church is now open on summer Sundays from 2.30pm to 5pm. It is best approached up the toll road from Rye House. See pages 74-75 & 80.

Myddelton House garden, a diversion off the Lea Valley Walk, is now open with no admission charge. The grounds of the Lee Valley Park Authority have been restored following a two year Heritage Lottery Funded project. There a new visitor centre and tea room. On election day last week the Duchess of Cornwall made a […]

The death of Michael Peet, Rector of Bow, has highlighted the 700th anniversary of the church on the edge of the Lea Valley. The church, in the middle of the road just before the Bow Flyover, was attended by George Lansbury whose funeral was held there in 1940. He will be remembered with the unveiling […]

The Lower Lea will change with Olympic improvements to the landscape but The Guardian has a disturbing report about a threat to water traffic and river residents.

The towpath between Hackney Wick and Three Mills is likely to be closed on two stretches from next Monday 21 February. First, path resurfacing from Hackney Wick to just below Old Ford Lock will mean that a diversion will be in operation. So far there is no temporary way marking but the best route is: […]

Reading about BBC television presenter Kate Silverton recalling in The Guardian her Saturday job at Philpott’s in Waltham Abbey makes me want to go back there now. The tea shop is in the churchyard of the ancient abbey. Apparently Kate used to bake the scones. See page 96.

The Lee Valley Leisure Complex is heading for a relaunch as a ‘regional leisure destination’ reports publicpropertyuk.com. The centre opened opened in 1973 as the Pickett’s Lock Centre and includes a cinema as well as a bowls hall and other facilities including the golf course. It’s not easy to access from Pickett’s Lock so maybe […]