Update on Cody Dock

A few weeks ago Duncan and I visited Cody Dock, the community project by the River Lea near Canning Town. Some of you will remember a serendipitous visit to the site in May 2014, when we were lucky to meet the founder of the project - Simon Myers - who told us about it and allowed us to walk through the as-yet unopened grounds. (see here).

Since then, both Duncan and I have kept in touch with Simon and the project, and Duncan has certainly been helping out in the garden. Even I have done a bit of weeding!

I find it always a nice place to visit - the whole idea is that it is for the community, and also the plants and animals that live there. The day we visited was a nice, warm and sunny day, just right for having a look at how the flowers are doing, how the project is getting on generally, saying hello to people - and sitting down to have a cup of tea and maybe something to eat.

And that latter has come on apace with the recent opening of Cody Dock Cafe. This is being run by Nadia, a lovely lady who cooks wonderful North African cuisine to enjoy in the peaceful surrounds of Cody Dock. There is tea, coffee and other drinks available, and an increasing selection - including ice cream - for those who are beginning to find the place. More and more people from the surrounding light-industry and business park are visiting for their lunch, volunteers at the Dock find the cafe a welcome facility, and it will be a welcome stop for walkers and cyclist using the Lea Valley Way - when it finally opens in these Lower Lea parts!

At present you can walk or cycle down the Lea as far as Cody Dock from - for example - Three Mills. But it is an under-used route as there is a complicated dog-leg at Bromley-by-Bow which necessitates walking alongside the busy Blackwall Tunnel Approach Road so as to access a bridge leading onto the path. That is soon to change - hopefully by September - when a staircase will be opened onto the bridge. At Cody Dock, you can now walk through it every day from the riverside path, as it now remains open during daylight hours. It should be possible to continue through the dock along the riverside towards Canning Town Bridge and Trinity Buoy Wharf, but there is a complication in the access rights along the stretch of riverside south of Cody Dock. The path is there - but so is a barrier! So - at present you can walk through Cody Dock, stop to have a look round, a sit or a snack, then leave by the main gate into an industrial and business park! However, that isn't far from Star Lane DLR Station, so that's a good way of getting back after a visit.

Events are held there from time to time - we went to a wonderful Halloween evening last October - and the next one will be a Harvest Festival on 17th September. The project is keen to celebrate the seasons - particularly the Solstice and the Equinox - so as to try to bring peoples minds more into touch with nature, history, culture and what is around them.

If you haven't been there - or even if you have - I'd say it was worth a visit. Don't take sandwiches, though - use Nadia's cafe!

Paul Ferris, 27th July 2016