Last July I wrote about the centenary of the first British flight which took place in the Lea Valley. Flight pioneer Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe, working from a railway arch on Walthamstow Marshes managed to get a few feet off the ground on 13 July 1909. At the celebration held in front of the arch, Eric […]

I am interested to discover that the new film Fantastic Mr Fox was made the Three Mills Studios. This is another major feat to add to the long list of inventions and creations in the Lea Valley. The studios up to now have been known for Kavanagh QC, Bad Girls, Footballers’ Wives and, of course, […]

Leo Hickman has an interesting article in today’s Guardian on the River Lea. There has been recent suggestions that it could and should be much cleaner.

Over the weekend I picked up conkers in Springfield Park opposite Walthamstow Marsh and at Bow Creek. The two Lea Valley Walk routes on the Walk London programme were enjoyed in lovely weather. We had a small group on Saturday for the Ponders End to Clapton Common walk. But on Sunday a large number turned […]

This morning I walked in lovely sunshine from Ponders End To Clapton Common. This was to check out the route for next Saturday (26 September) when I shall be leading a Walk London walk. It starts at Ponders End Station at 11.15am. We shall walk south from Wright’s four mill stopping at Pickett’s Lock. We […]

If you want to enjoy the entire Lea Valley Walk as it is now you should read Diamond Geezer’s bang up to date and fascinating blog. His August holiday project this year is walking the route from source to Thames. It is so thorough that he even goes to the real source and not just […]

There will be a grand opening, or reopening, this Wednesday evening on the path just south of Luton. Sustrans has been working with local authorities to upgrade the Lea Valley Walk between Luton Airport Parkway and Harpenden to make it part of the national cycle network. This means that walkers will find that the first […]

The River Lea is so little known that Griff Rhys Jones had to begin and end his River Lea episode tonight by the Millennium Bridge spanning the Thames. I enjoyed the programme although I kept wanting to reach for  a map every time he jumped ahead on the north-south route. The presenter covered several interesting […]

Spotting ‘grot spots’ Waterways charity Thames21 wants to know of any grot spots in the Lea River Park area that need a bit of love and attention. I am not sure on this occasion what ‘Lea River Park’ means but since Thames21 operates in a wide area I am suggesting a look  under the Lea […]

Rivers with Griff Rhys Jones started tonight on BBC1. This is a five part series for the summer holidays. Stand by for his River Lea episode on Sunday 16 August.