Lea Valley Walk

The Lea Navigation, from docklands, via the Olympic Park, to the suburbs and the countryside.

History

This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.

Date Option Post # Weather
Sun, 01-Mar-20 Sunday Walk – The Lea Valley from Tottenham Hale to Cheshunt 14 dry sunny but cold
Sun, 03-Feb-19 Sunday Walk – An urban walk in the Lower Lea Valley 18 sunny and dry
Part of the Lea Valley Walk – Tottenham Hale to Cheshunt
Length: 14½ km (9 miles). Toughness: 1/10

Take a Victoria line tube to arrive at Tottenham Hale by 11:10 and meet outside by the entrance to the mainline station (since east Londoners might find it more convenient to travel from Liverpool Street, with fast trains at 10:55 and 10:57). Tottenham Hale is in TfL Zone 3.

Cheshunt (in TfL Zone 8) has fast trains back to Liverpool Street via Tottenham Hale at xx:20 & xx:51 and slower ones at xx:29 & xx:59, plus the London Overground service via Seven Sisters at xx:01 & xx:31. If you drop out earlier, the slower mainline trains call at Waltham Cross (Zone 7) and Enfield Lock (Zone 6).

You can use Oyster PAYG or contactless at all these stations but a simple return to Cheshunt might be cheaper, especially with a railcard. A London Freedom Pass is valid on the Overground service but only from Enfield Lock on the mainline trains, not from Cheshunt or Waltham Cross.

A year ago there was quite a good Sunday turnout for the southern part of the Lea Valley Walk, and today's walk gives you a chance to explore another section of the Lee Navigation. Information about the first 12¼ km (from Tottenham Hale to Waltham Cross) can be found on the Lea Valley Walk page on the TfL site, where you can download Sections 1 & 2; they're described in the opposite direction but that shouldn't present any difficulty. The suggested 2¼ km extension through the River Lee Country Park to Cheshunt is simple enough, and will be familiar to anyone who's done the Cheshunt to Broxbourne walk (#311).

If you want a pub lunch there are watering-holes at Ponders End (The Navigation Inn, after 6¾ km) and Enfield Lock (The Greyhound, after 10¼ km). If you press on through the Country Park the suggested tea place is the Terrace Bar & Café in the Lee Valley White Water Centre, which is an interesting place to visit in any event.

As always, remember that there will be no leader for this walk. Please bring the directions (or a map) and be prepared to find your own way if others press on ahead or stop off to look around. T=LDP.28
  • 01-Mar-20

    On a dry sunny but cold day, 14 turned up for this Tfl walk, previously untried by SWC. In a mud-soaked world, this was an inventive choice almost entirely along towpaths. Sadly, though, what the walk lacked in mud it made up for in monotony. Good for boat- spotters and duck spotters I guess – also factory and warehouse-spotters. And puddle-splashers, plenty of puddles.

    At last the Greyhound lunch pub hove into view. It didn’t do lunch. It hasn’t done so “since the pool table went” (a comment that was cause for much speculation as the afternoon wore on). The scenery picked up a bit after what would have been lunch. There were even horses and a sign about otters. (No otters mind you, but at least there was a sign). Some went to the White Water centre for an afternoon break. One got slightly lost in the Country Park. But that fortuitous sort of lost that got him to the station before everyone else. No prizes for guessing who that was.

  • Anonymous
    01-Mar-20

    One walker, who opted to do the Cheshunt Circular today, bumped into three of the official group in the White Water Centre cafe and persuaded them to finish the walk with a brief meander through the Lee Valley Park.

Sections 3-5 of the Lea Valley Walk – Tottenham Hale to Limehouse
Length: 12.7 km (7.9 miles). Toughness: 1/10

Take a Victoria line tube to arrive at Tottenham Hale by 11:25 and meet outside by the entrance to the mainline station, since east Londoners might find it more convenient to travel from Liverpool Street (Cheshunt trains at 11:10 and 11:12, arriving at 11:21/25). Tottenham Hale is in TFL Zone 3.

The published walk ends at Limehouse Basin. The nearest station is Limehouse (trains to Fenchurch Street or DLR to Tower Hill/Bank), but it's not far along the Thames Path to Wapping if you want to pick up a London Overground train.

A few months ago I saw a BBC TV programme about a chap walking these sections of the Lea Valley Walk. It's one of the Walk London routes which is well described and nicely presented on the Transport for London website so I thought it would be worth posting as a club walk. It's a riverside walk through a mostly urban environment, but with plenty of green spaces and interesting sites (Walthamstow and Hackney Marshes; the Olympic Park; Three Mills) to take in as well as “the ongoing transformation of the Lower Lea”. If you're feeling adventurous you could wander off-piste around any of these places.

The walk documents mention cafés and pubs at Lea Bridge (after an hour's walking), more cafés an hour later at Three Mills, and pubs at Limehouse Basin. No doubt there are plenty of other picnic spots and refreshment places en route. Unless someone with local knowledge would like to post a comment recommending a particular spot, I suggest stopping anywhere which looks appealing.

As always, there will be no leader for this walk. You'll need to go to the Lea Valley Walk page on the TfL site and download the directions for Sections 3, 4 & 5. T=LDP.28
  • 31-Jan-19

    The walk instructions for this part of the Lea Valley Walk do not seem to mention any pubs by name so for those of you unfamiliar with the area here are a few lunch options to consider:

    Springfield Park Walthamstow: to add a bit of a climb to the walk there is a nice cafe at the top of the hill. Does basic grub but good quality.

    Princess of Wales Clapton: riverside pub. Very popular and crowded on Sundays with Hackney families. Top quality food. Bit pricey. Need to phone ahead: https://www.princessofwalesclapton.co.uk/

    Stratford: as you reach the Olympic Park stretch of the towpath there is a row of eateries and "hipster" bars just away to your left. There is also a bar on the other side of the river.

    Loads of places for drinks in Limehouse but likely to be busy.

  • Anonymous
    04-Feb-19

    14 met at Tottenham Hale and 4 late starters joined enroute.

    Perfect weather, sunny and dry.

  • Anonymous
    04-Feb-19

    18 sunny and dry