English Heritage has produced a leaflet called London’s Lea Valley: the Olympic Park Story.
It describes the area as “until recently a little-known and largely uninhabited landscape of wild vegetation peppered with pylons, canals, locks, bridges and towpaths – mostly silent and still – a no-man’s land ripe for development”.
There are some interesting facts about businesses in the area and photographs.
Peter Marshall, who has photographed the Lea Valley over many years, has commented on the Fatwalk failure and possibilities at Cody Dock:
“…provide a wooden bascule bridge across the dock entrance to carry the Fatwalk across, which would join the existing section from beside Twelvetrees Bridge to a isolated section only currently accessible to those working on the neighbouring industrial estate. A short section along currently unused riverbank next to a recycling area could then extend the path to join up with the existing path and bridge south of the East India Dock Road (where there is also a riverside path completed around 20 years ago but never opened to the public with an entrance from Canning Town station) and allow walkers to reach the Thames at East India Dock and Trinity Buoy Wharf.”
“Dismaying and baffling” is how Rowan Moore in today’s Observer describes the “possible scrapping” of the Lea River Park, or Fatwalk, which would complete the Lea Valley Walk.
He questions Mayor Boris Johnson’s failure to act after “a few million in public money and five years of work have been spent getting it this far”.
Read the full piece here and see pictures here.
Diamond Geezer has written an excellent piece on the failure of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation to build the Fatwalk.
The Fatwalk is the final section of the Lea Valley Walk which should follow the tidal Lea rather than the rather dull Limehouse Cut.
He rightly points out that the volunteer group at Cody Dock may have a plan to build the key bridge itself but it is reduced to raising money by appeals.
How about a donation from the LTGDC which has surplus funds?
It appears that the Mayor of London has cut the Lea Valley Walk out of the Olympic legacy.
Dave Hill has some thoughts about the towpath alongside the Olympic Park.
The U3A, University of the Third Age, has produced a film of its Olympic Year walk down the Lea Valley.
It gives a good overview and shows some of the latest changes in landscape including the Olympic sites at Waltham Abbey and in London.
Also shown is the new safe path under the Bow Flyover junction.
The Olympic torch will arrive in the Lea Valley on Saturday 7 July.
It will be seen in Waltham Abbey’s Sun Street before being taken to the white water centre where it will descend down the rapids.
The following day the torch will be in Luton.
The flame will be in the lower Lea Valley on Tuesday 21 July when it passes Bow Church. The building will be open all day from 11am to 3pm. Our Lady & St Catherine of Siena Church opposite has already bought extra candles to be ready for the huge numbers dropping in on that day and during the Games.
The towpath alongside the Olympic Park closed on Monday evening 2 July.
The Lea Valley Walk now ‘ends’ at the site of the Matchbox Toy factory below Homerton and will not continue south until after the Olympics.
The diversion from Marshgate Bridge to Bow Bridge is so long that it is hardly worth bothering with.
I walked down the towpath during the last daylight hours. It was a grey afternoon but still interesting.
The road surface on the Hackney Wick Bridge has been renewed. There is anew bridge downstream of Hackney Wick.
The greatest surprise is to find staff on duty at the Old Ford lock keeper’s office and the water clean.
But the towpath between Old Ford and Bow Flyover is much as it has been in recent times with plenty of blackberry blossom and green fruit.
Ripe blackberries should be ready for the path’s opening in the autumn.
Work to complete the cycling link between Luton and Harpenden along the Lea Valley Walk starts this July.
The footpath here is now part of National Cycle Route 6 pioneered by Sustrans and backed by the Big Lottery Fund.
There is expected to be a slight realignment of the Walk at East Hyde but the cycleway and Walk will separate at Batford.
Sustrans has already installed the bridge over Lower Harpenden Road.
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will visit Three Mills on Wednesday 13 June.
They will go to the Mill House to meet those involved in the restoration. The Royal couple will also visit the next door studios where the London 2012 Opening and Closing ceremonies are being planned and rehearsed.
One of the Water Chariots, a waterbus, will be named.
A meeting follows with representatives of the new Canal & River Trust (British Waterways) to discuss the regeneration of the waterways network as a result of Olympic legacy.