Day Seven

Thursday 5 November 2009 -
Royal Albert to Enfield Lock

As I walked down the steps from Royal Albert DLR station, my immediate worry was where I was going to find my third cup of coffee. Two at breakfast is enough, but by nine-ish I'm starting to need a third. But no panic – a kiosk nestles beneath the legs of the DLR, so I was able to satisfy my craving as I watched the morning flights take off from the City Airport.

My route lay North across a main road, but I was protected from the traffic's roar by a cordon sanitaire of shrubs and bushes. This is the docklands standard approach: housing developments are connected by a chain of pedestrian routes with thick planting to hide the traffic. I'm not knocking it – it works pretty well. I rejoined my old pal, the Capital Ring (inner orbital path) to penetrate some older housing and cross the A13, turning to the West along the Greenway. This could be a puzzle – a well-surfaced route for pedestrians and cyclist along the top of a long, straight embankment. But why build the embankment? The occasional fruity whiff gives a clue. I was walking on top of the Northern Outfall Sewer, 'a major gravity sewer which runs from Wick Lane in Hackney to Beckton Sewage Works in east London; most of it was designed by Joseph Bazalgette after an outbreak of cholera in 1853 and "The Big Stink" of 1858.' (Wikipedia) The result for walkers is an elevated and largely peaceful journey towards Stratford.

While the roads climb to cross the embankment at right-angles to the Greenway, tube and rail lines go underneath. I wonder how many passengers realise what is flowing over their heads. As I approached Stratford, things got a bit complicated. The pedestrian route threaded its way through several construction sites, yellow-jacketed men posted at regular intervals to protect workman from marauding walkers. The reason, indeed the reason for almost all activity in the area, is the Olympics. The building site, which seems to require more complicated access arrangements than the Channel Tunnel, sprawls across what used to be Stratford Marsh, a flood plain for the various rivers which converge here and enter the Thames.

I had to make a short detour where a bit of the Greenway was blocked entirely, regaining my desired route by crossing yet another site access road. A sign instructed me to 'give way to all traffic'. I treated this with silent contempt; luckily there was no traffic so my resolve was not tested. The final few hundred yards of the Greenway gave me a grandstand view of the grandstands (arf arf). The main Olympic Stadium, which appears from the outside to be more or less finished, almost loomed over the footpath. As I turned off the Greenway and on to the towpath of the River Lea to head North, the Olympics site continued to dominate the scene, huge lorries roaring along a roadway just a large fence away from the river and me.

A word about the spelling – it doesn't really matter. The Lee navigation flows through the Lea Valley, and over the centuries twenty-odd others spellings have apparently been used. So I'll stick to Lea.

When I started the walk it was a cold but sunny day, now it was turning cloudier. There was a brief shower. There was a curious contrast between the social aspect of the Greenway and towpath sections of my walk. On the former, people kept their heads down and avoided eye contact, let alone conversation. On the towpath, it wasn't exactly long lost brother stuff, but people did say 'hello', or at least grunt in a friendly fashion.

'Wiv a ladder and some glasses' - I didn't need the equipment as there were no 'ouses in between me and 'ackney Marshes. From this point Northwards the value of the Lea Valley as a playground for East Londoners becomes obvious. There is a lot of industry and commercial activity, but it's usually held at bay by the river and its green corridor. At one point I was convinced that a London bus was bearing down on me along the towpath but, even here, there was a thin strip of walkway protected from the traffic by a crash barrier.

I passed the factory where Matchbox Toys were made, sadly no more.

The shale and dirt towpath made a nice change from the metalled surfaces earlier in the day. As I reached Walthamstow Marshes, the sun came out again. I left the Capital Ring at Upper Clapton, continuing to follow the Lea Valley Way along the towpath. Three orthodox Jews sat on a bench. The middle, older man, exchanged a cheery greeting with me. Was he instructing the two younger men, or were they just enjoying the waterside? Traffic noise rose to a crescendo as I drew nearer to the North Circular Road. I passed beneath it and hurried on. The noise level returned to the more normal low hum, the most intrusive sound being the constant warning sirens of fork lift trucks.

There was now an astonishing contrast between the dark banks of cloud in front of me and the sun coming over my shoulder, picking out the double row of yellow-painted electrical pylons which follow the line of the river. Further North, the pylons were green, and were indeed being painted by intrepid workmen as I passed. As usual, people doing actual work were being shadowed by other people standing around in yellow jackets. That's the business to be in in this neck of the woods – hi-viz jackets and vests. If I'd collected a pound from every person I'd passed wearing one during the day, I haven't the faintest idea how rich I'd have been, but I would struggled under the weight of the pounds.

The autumn colours here were as impressive as anything I'd seen in Kent and Sussex earlier in earlier legs of my walk. A stainless steel interpretation board informed me that otters could be seen in the area (albeit mostly at night), the 'sign of a healthy river.' I was pleased to see my regular companions, sheep, grazing the embankment of several of the valley's reservoirs; later, horses took over the grass-munching duties.

As I approached Enfield, the London Loop (outer orbital path) swung in from the East. I followed it past Enfield Island Village. This used to be the Royal Small Arms Factory where the Lee Enfield Rifle was manufactured. The island had a church, school, its own police station and housing for the 1700 workers. The Lee Enfield was a key weapon during the Boer War and two World Wars. End of history lesson. From here it was a short journey by footpath and pavement to Enfield Lock station, the end of today's walk.