East End Waterways and Olympic Park (Pictures at bottom of page......)
In early October, ten of us went for an unusual and interesting walk along some of the East End waterways, taking in Abbey Mills Pumping Station, Bromley-by-Bow Locks, Three Mills Green, and the Olympic Park.
Just off the busy A12 Blackwall Tunnel approach is a totally different world, of locks, canals, rivers and narrowboats. Most of us hadn't heard of Bow Creek, but as we followed it, we had yet another new experience - what looked like an oast house beside the river. It turned out to be the old tide mill at Three Mills Green, former corn mills dating largely from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, subsequently used as a gin distillery but now housing a small museum and film studios. We followed the Three Mills Wall River, crossed the Prescott Channel and after an interesting chat with two ladies in a community garden, reached the Greenway - most of us had never heard of any of these.
The Greenway is a leisure pathway on top of Joseph Bazalgette's Northern Outfall Sewer, and we were able to get a close view of the astonishing Abbey Mills Pumping Station, a marvellous Victorian building in the Moorish style.
Further along the Greenway, as we approached the A11, we were able to see the Olympic torch in Dane's Yard. Just across the A11, we walked alongside the Bow Back River and found ourselves at Pudding Mill Lane Station.
There was talk of opting out at this point, but everyone decided to continue back up onto the Greenway to see the view of the Olympic Park and hopefully have some lunch at the View Tube. The pleasant lunch we had revived everyone and we all decided to do the rest of the walk. From the View Tube we walked beside the Olympic Park on the Greenway for a while, and then detoured down some steps to the River Lea and Old Ford Lock.Our plans for the final part of the walk, which should have finished at Hackney Wick, were thwarted by some of the extensive building works which are going on in the area, and as we could see Westfield (Stratford) not far away, we headed straight there.
In early October, ten of us went for an unusual and interesting walk along some of the East End waterways, taking in Abbey Mills Pumping Station, Bromley-by-Bow Locks, Three Mills Green, and the Olympic Park.
Just off the busy A12 Blackwall Tunnel approach is a totally different world, of locks, canals, rivers and narrowboats. Most of us hadn't heard of Bow Creek, but as we followed it, we had yet another new experience - what looked like an oast house beside the river. It turned out to be the old tide mill at Three Mills Green, former corn mills dating largely from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, subsequently used as a gin distillery but now housing a small museum and film studios. We followed the Three Mills Wall River, crossed the Prescott Channel and after an interesting chat with two ladies in a community garden, reached the Greenway - most of us had never heard of any of these.
The Greenway is a leisure pathway on top of Joseph Bazalgette's Northern Outfall Sewer, and we were able to get a close view of the astonishing Abbey Mills Pumping Station, a marvellous Victorian building in the Moorish style.
Further along the Greenway, as we approached the A11, we were able to see the Olympic torch in Dane's Yard. Just across the A11, we walked alongside the Bow Back River and found ourselves at Pudding Mill Lane Station.
There was talk of opting out at this point, but everyone decided to continue back up onto the Greenway to see the view of the Olympic Park and hopefully have some lunch at the View Tube. The pleasant lunch we had revived everyone and we all decided to do the rest of the walk. From the View Tube we walked beside the Olympic Park on the Greenway for a while, and then detoured down some steps to the River Lea and Old Ford Lock.Our plans for the final part of the walk, which should have finished at Hackney Wick, were thwarted by some of the extensive building works which are going on in the area, and as we could see Westfield (Stratford) not far away, we headed straight there.