Route Section

Capital Ring

Section 14 (Hackney Wick to Beckton District Park)

Description:

Incredibly, this easy section through a densely populated part of London manages to find a route that is almost completely without traffic. This is mainly achieved by following for 4.6km (2.9ml) The Greenway, an almost straight broad track running high between houses along the top of the Northern Outfall Sewer with a bonded gravel surface throughout. Note that The Greenway is a permissive path shared with cyclists and closed at night.

First, though, you follow the Lee Navigation towpath for a while, together with the Lea Valley Walk and Time Travellers. You join The Greenway at Old Ford Lock, beside which, incongruously, stand the cottage studios of GMTV, complete with outdoor sets in the garden. At a railway line you must divert briefly from The Greenway through an industrial area, then you cross the intricate network of the Bow Backs rivers.

The palatial former Abbey Mills Pumping Station stars on the way to West Ham, then you have an aerial view over the East London Cemetery as you approach Plaistow. You leave The Greenway to cross Newham Way on a long footbridge, then enter Beckton District Park, where tree species are marked out for your information, and a small diversion can take you past its lake.

We have been alerted to some recent changes that affect the walk description of Capital Ring section 14, as follows:

- The Lea Tavern in Rothbury Road is now boarded up - another public house casualty .
- At the crossing of Canning Road on the Greenway, the workers’ café has vanished.
- There’s a useful toilet facility outside West Ham Station – just about the only one on the whole route!
- Upper Street in Plaistow is actually Upper Road
- Watch out when crossing Tollgate Road in Beckton Park as it is a relatively busy road with no pedestrian controlled crossing.

Boroughs which the route passes through:

Barking and Dagenham
Newham
Tower Hamlets

Distance:

5.2 miles ( 8.3 km)

Start:

Hackney Wick

Finish:

Beckton District Park (Stansfeld Road, GR 422-811)

Recommended direction:

Northwest to southeast

Terrain and surface:

Almost entirely level on firm ground, with some short gentle slopes and one flight of steps. No stiles. 0.8km (0.5ml) beside roads

Signage:

Complete both ways. The logo is 'Big Ben' and text 'Capital Ring' in blue and green on white background.

Temporary Diversions:

1) Work in connection with the development of Olympic Park may affect the route from time to time. Diversions will be signed when necessary.

2) The link with Pudding Mill Lane Station has been closed since 2nd July 2007 and will be until further notice, due to construction in connection with the Olympic Games.

3) The Greenway will be closed from Pudding Mill / Marshgate Lane to Stratford from 18 May 09 until Spring 2010 for essential works below the bridge and improvements to the Greenway itself. Please follow diversionary route along Pudding Mill Lane and Marshgate St. crossing Bow Back river to Stratford High Street; turn right to rejoin the Greenway at Stratford High St. by the Waterworks river. (click on Greenway diversion link under Route Downloads for map)

4) From 1 September 2009 until late October 2009 it is necessary to divert the section of the Greenway between Wick Lane and the River Lea Navigation. This diversion does not directly affect the route of the Capital Ring. A diversion via Dace Road leading to the Old Ford Lock is available for pedestrians and cyclists; please follow signs along the route.

Refreshments and toilets:

Pubs at Hackney Wick and Plaistow. Cafés at Hackney Wick and Beckton District Park. Public toilets at Beckton District Park

Public transport and breakpoints:

Rail: Hackney Wick, West Ham
Tube: West Ham, Plaistow
DLR: Pudding Mill Lane, Royal Albert
Buses: at stations above (not Pudding Mill Lane) plus High Street Stratford, several points in Plaistow, Lonsdale Avenue and Tollgate Road (Beckton District Park)

Links with other walks:

Lea Valley Walk, Time Travellers, The Greenway

Map required:

Explorer 162

Principal promoters:

London Walking Forum, LB Tower Hamlets, LB Newham

Access information:

The first 700m along the towpath are level but uneven - this can be avoided by starting at the west end of The Greenway in Wick Lane. Access points to The Greenway are ramped, as is the footbridge over Newham Way.

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