Olympic Park to Bow Creek

Date: Sunday 10th March 2024, 1pm

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to Bow Creek Ecology Park

Burgundy stemmed cornus planting with Orbit behind, March 2024

Up first… We explored the parks and canyons bookending Bow Creek, from Stratford to Canning Town. It’s already twelve years since the Olympic Games came to Stratford in East London and the whole lower River Lea was cleaned up, reshaped and rebuilt for the sporting citizen. From the modern high rise apartments to the low rise cottages of West Ham, let’s check it out.

Route

Olympic section

Glasshouse Gardens
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park including Arcelor Mittal Orbit
Pudding Mill Allotments
Greenway Stratford
Abbey Lane Park with a super-fast slide!
Three Mills Green where we met Ranger Sam

West Ham section

Prescott Channel
Long Wall by Channelsea (supported by Surge.coop)
Memorial Recreation Ground
Hermit Road Recreation Ground
Star Lane Park
Malmesbury Road Park
Bow Creek Ecology Park
Lookout Riverside Open Space and Botanic Square

Meeting place: Stratford Station, south side by foot of stairs to Westfield
Date & time: Sunday March 10th 2024, 1 pm
Distance: about 5 miles
End point: Lighthouse Gallery, City Island, Lyell Street
Maps: Google map, Komoot map – click to view

High-rise art by Park-to-Park’s artist-in-residence Gail Astbury at the Lighthouse Gallery to finish.

Sunset over Memorial Recreation Ground with Canary Wharf beyond

Many points of interest on or near this walk are described interactively in https://the-line.org/map/

There is also the Leaway, an intended route devised in 2016 which follows the river more closely.

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Gallery

Cormorants on River Lea looking north near Three Mills Lock, with Olympic Torch tower and ArcelorMittal Orbit by Sir Anish Kapoor beyond

ArcelorMittal Orbit at the Lea Valley Olympic Park

ArcelorMittal is a steel company, and owner Lakshmi Mittal put up some of the money, and the steel. The design was chosen by then Mayor of London Boris Johnson, though perhaps he only endorsed the decision. See Guardian article & video.

Three Mills Green

We were joined by Sam, one of the Lea Valley Rangers, who gave us an insight into the work and achievements at Three Mills.

Here’s how accessible the walk is – Abbey Lane Park. Slide down from the Greenway (aka Northern Outfall Sewer)

Hammers: Memorial to 38 souls who lost their lives when a wave was thrown up by a ship launching into the Thames.

An Arizona Cyprus Cupressus arizonica I think, in flower in Hermit Road Recreation Ground.

Newham Council has just planted a host of trees in Hermit Road Rec – Golden Delicious apples, an alternating avenue of oak and red leaf maple, and also (this photo above) a number of giant sequoias and dawn redwoods. Talk about thinking ahead, these trees will be giants in 300 years’ time!