Lee Valley Park marketing manager Lucy Hose has sent out a letter saying that last year “over four million visitors came to see what we have to offer”. It’s an impressive figure.

This Saturday morning Open Country on Radio 4  looks at how parts of the of the valley are being transformed for the Olympics which will bring many more in 2012.

The programme is at 6.07am and repeated the following Thursday at 3pm. Or listen online.

I see that the Radio Times uses the ‘Lea’ spelling. This is slowly being adopted by the media although the official title of the park covering the last 26 miles is ‘Lee Valley’. Further north near Luton they accept ‘Lea’ as in ‘Upper Lea Valley’ which pioneered the ‘Lea Valley Walk’. I might start using it myself as in the headline here.

A rare diversion on the Lea Valley Walk is at Enfield Lock to visit Myddelton House, the HQ of the Lee Valley Park Authority.

Good news in this credit crunch is that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given £477,000 to the garden of Myddelton House.

Edward Bowles, born at the house in 1865, created the garden which includes rare plants and unique features such as Enfield’s market cross.

Descendant Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles has planted a silver birch to mark the good news and Bryan Hewitt who has been gardner there for 25 years is delighted. 

The kitchen garden will be open for the first time and the stables will become a cafe.

I am delighted to hear that admission to the restored garden will be free which should encourage people to visit often and see the changing garden. At present an entrance ticket costs £3.

A 2012 completion date maybe?

See page 97.