This weekend is Open House London which sees several open days in the Lea Valley.

On Saturday (10am-5pm) there are tours of Enfield Island which is the former Royal Small Arms Factory. Follow Ordnance Road from Enfield Lock Station.

On Fish Island (Sat & Sun 12-5pm) selected buildings, studios and galleries. The co-operative owned Counter Cafe (7 Roach Road) has a view across to the Lea Valley Walk towpath and the Olympic Park. Walk from Hackney Wick Station.

The Markfield Beam Engine and House N15 4RB (Sat/Sun 11am-5pm) is a Grade II listed pumping station dating from 1886.Beam engines will be steaming. walk from Tottenham Hale to Tottenham Lock and go south on the towpath for a short distance.

House Mill at Three Mills (Sat & Sun 11am-4pm) is open for tours organised by the River Lea Tidal Mill Trust.) walk from Bromley by Bow Station.

Nearby is Abbey Mills Pumping Station which is offering tours all weekend but these must be booked. Email [email protected] and ask for a slot.

Limehouse Town Hall (646 Commercial Road E14 7HA) at the south end of the Limehouse Cut is also open both days (12-4.30pm). This dates from 1881 and is associated with Clement Attlee. walk from Limehouse DLR Station.

Waltham Abbey held its most ambitious Holy Cross Day procession on Saturday.

The Hertfordshire Mercury has pictures.

On Holy Cross Day Saturday 14 September Waltham Abbey is remembering the bringing of the miraculous Holy Cross from Montacute in Somerset to Waltham by Tovi the Proud in 1035.

This is the third year that the Abbey and town, known as Waltham Holy Cross, has marked the day with a procession.

This year 2013 the procession will begin at the Eleanor Cross at nearby Waltham Cross at 1pm.

As the procession crosses the Lea Valley Walk and river it will be met by residents from Waltham Abbey whilst bells are rung from the Abbey tower by both local ringers and guests from Montacute. On arrival at the Abbey the procession will pass through a medieval fair.

At 2.30pm a short service in the Abbey church will include a re-enactment of the Legend of the Holy Cross. Last year the Abbey choir sang an unaccompanied Latin as Scouts placed a replica Holy Cross in its stand.

Holy Cross Day recalls the crucifixion of Christ and the finding of the True Cross. The 14 September date was chosen because on that day in 335 Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which covers the crucifixion site, was consecrated.

In Waltham Abbey the day is also an opportunity to recall the story of a marble cross being dug up in Somerset and loaded on a cart whose oxen only stopped on reaching what is now Waltham. This was taken as a sign that a church should be built and for centuries Waltham Abbey displayed the miraculous cross.

The Swan at Wheathampstead is usually missed by Lea Valley walkers who pass through the churchyard and head for The Bull which is handily on the route.

But the 15th-century Swan is also in the High Street and very near the church. Sadly it has been damaged by a serious fire. The good news is that the occupants including a parrot escaped.

Following a suggestion by the parish priest Richard Banham, the hoardings around the pub have been painted by villagers directed by artist Nick Schon. The panels depict such characters as Abbot John (whose parents are buried in the church) and George Bernard Shaw who lived nearby.

Once the pub is restored the paintings will be removed and displayed around the village.

Cody Dock on the tidal River Lea needs just £77,783 to unlock the blocked Lea Valley Walk route to the Thames.

This careful costing would build a footbridge over the dock entrance, remove fences that currently block public access and create a new right of way.

Simon Myers, who looks after the project, announced today that the total raised has just shot up to £50,567.

He is asking all those who believe in the access plan to register their support via the Spacehive page with a small pledge towards finding the final amount. Do not send money now but a £10 or £25 pledge will help.

And to those who live in Newham he says: “Email your local councillor or MP asking them to make the case for Newham’s regeneration department to support our funding campaign.”

One could also contact Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales. Meanwhile Mayor of London Boris Johnson ought to be asked to look at this opportunity to open up the Lower Lea Valley at a very small cost.

I spent the last day of August walking from Luton Airport Parkway to Batford Springs.

This section has the new silhouette statues of Eric Morecambe, ‘Capability’ Brown and a Luton sea scout.

It was a beautiful day, sunny but too hot, and I saw lots of blackberries and flowers. But what struck me and my companion most was how path the feel of this section has changed since it was metalled for the Sustrans route.

As the way enters Hertfordshire it is no longer a footpath at the side of a long field but a hedged lane. It is also signed not as the Lea Valley Walk but the Lea Valley Way to include cyclists.

At Batford Springs, where the very first stretch of the Lea Valley Walk was opened, it was a relief to walk on grass. Beyond here the Lea Valley Walk and cyclists soon diverge.

On the plus side these four miles plus can be enjoyed by people with prams or riding mobility scooters.

On Saturday there were not too many cyclists and only a few walkers. At the Red Cow in Cold Harbour we were two of only four people enjoying lunch. There is plenty of room for more people to discover the Lea Valley Walk.

Just after passing under the Lea Valley Viaduct, below Pickett’s Lock, the Lea Valley Walk is alongside an industrial estate. The only relief from this stretch, leading to a bus garage, is the cafe.

Now a plan to redevelop the area as Meridian Water has been unveiled. It is described as a £1.3bn eco-development that will provide up to 5,000 homes and create up to 3,000 jobs.

It’s part of the Mayor of London’s Opportunity Area Planning Framework for the Upper Lee Valley.

The masterplan has the towpath running alongside new homes in Meridian East although the waterside ‘Gelato’ kiosk in the artist’s impression seems to be blocking the way on the “high quality promenade”.

Opposite will be more flats and inlets “providing flood storage”. There is suggestion of . “floating homes and residential moorings”.

It’s all within a “green and blue corridor”. Tottenham Marsh appears to have been rebranded Meridian Gardens.

Most puzzling is that the 150 page masterplan fails to mention the Lea Valley Walk.

The way to Whitby from London is via the Lea Valley according to Will Self.

The writer has a disturbing tale to tell about his latest long walk but his description of the slow change in landscape on long journeys with his son is interesting and inspiring.

The Mail has the full story.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has announced a £250,000 grant for the ‘Lea River Park’.

This means money for the proposed footpath between the Olympic Park with the River Thames. This is the climax of the Lea Valley Walk which should follow the tidal Lea instead of the Limehouse Cut.

The announcement says: “…funding will be used to enhance a number of projects along the Lea River Corridor including: Planting and landscaping along route between Twelvetrees and Cody Dock; Cody Dock (re-landscaping, planting); Creating a new connection between Cody Dock and Canning Town…”

The key is Cody Dock where a bridge costing around £80,000 would open the through route.

The detail will be interesting and important.

“When we first visited the Cody Dock reedbed, close to the mouth of the River Lea, in late 2010, it was instantly clear what a wonderful place it was and how damaged it had become,” writes Theo Thomas of Thames21 in a just published Project Reedbed Report.

It was the Cody Dock reeds which inspired this report on creating new reedbeds on the River Lea between Enfield Lock and Bromley-by-Bow. It reveals that at present only 8% of the river, which has poor water quality, currently benefits from reedbeds.

John Bryden, Biodiversity Officer for the Lea Catchment at the Environment Agency, said: “Over the next five years we hope to see a number of the recommendations of the report implemented, leading to a substantial change in the look and amenity value of the River Lee Navigation. This will allow for more wildlife to inhabit the river and will hopefully allow for more people to enjoy themselves in and around the area.”

Programmes Manager Theo Thomas said: “This research sets out very clearly how important reedbeds are for our river systems and wider environment.

“This solution is within our grasp and will help make the Lea healthier. It also provides specific guidance on where and how they can be implemented for far-reaching benefits to water health, biodiversity and social and amenity value.”