Stratford to Walthamstow Wetlands Walk

A sunny and pleasantly warm Saturday 17th of August, just perfect for a river-side walk. We were meeting at Stratford Station by the ticket gates leading to Westfield at 11 a.m. and we had a good turn-out with 11 people, Cathy, Claire, Eileen, Jill S, Laurel, Louise, Madeleine, Nigel, Richard, Sue, and me (Trev). We headed off to the Olympic Park, by-passing Westfield shopping centre and its crowds seeking bargains.

Crossing the road into the park, we headed towards the London Stadium, crossing over the River Lea and turned right to head north with the River Lea on our right side, passing the new East Bank “cultural area” with new buildings which will house the V&A Museum, the BBC and Sadlers Wells. After a while we had left the landscaped gardens of the park and were walking along the bank overlooking the River Lea heading towards the Velodrome.

Crossing the A12 slip roads near Eastway we rejoined the river-side path. The path split into two with a surfaced footpath/cycleway or a natural track by the river. We took the riverside path through the trees, passing the football pitches of Hackney Marsh on our left and enjoyed the wildlife on the river, spotting ducks, cormorants and a good number of Little Egrets. After a while we reached Friends Bridge, a footbridge over the river and turned left towards the Filter Beds Nature Reserve, where we were going to stop for lunch.

On entering the nature reserve I spotted a large lump of concrete, presumably part of the old structures,but which now rather handily made perfect seating for 11 people, a stroke of luck! After lunch we continued through the reserve to a henge of stones, called Nature's Throne, and then joined and crossed the Lee Navigation. Exiting the towpath at the Princess of Wales, we turned right onto Lee Bridge road, eastwards for about 500 yards before turning right and right again onto a footpath and subway under the road and headed north along what used to be an aqueduct carrying water from the Walthamstow reservoirs to the filter beds.

We followed the pathway under the railway lines with the Walthamstow marshes on our left, to the car park at the end. Exiting the car park we ignored the low bridge beneath the railway, which was built so cattle could access the marshes, and turned right to enter the Walthamstow Wetlands Nature Reserve, continuing to the cafe at the visitor centre for some refreshments. Suitably refreshed we left the nature reserve heading for bus stops or railway stations to take us home.

The walk had been about 5½ to 6 miles and had taken about 3 hours including the lunch stop, and included a riverside section and two nature reserves, and if you turned up early you could even fit in some shopping at Stratford!.

Trev Eley.  22nd August 2024