The reedbeds that are saving the Lea Navigation

After walking the length of the Lea Valley, it was fascinating to learn more about the river from water level, thanks to a Thames21 tour of reedbeds to the north of Bromley-by-Bow. It turns out these reedbeds are a valuable weapon in the ongoing effort to clean up a once highly polluted waterway. I’d seen traditional ones (above), but hadn’t realised what an amazing job they do of reducing pollution: the Lea Navigation is full of toxic ammonia. Reedbeds convert this into nitrate, which is safer – a great way of improving water quality.

The reeds that Thames21 plant aren’t in the actual river bed, but grow in coir matting that floats on the surface, inside a bumper (above). The roots hang down into the water, adding to the surface area. They are easier to maintain than the traditional beds, which can expand to take up too much space. As well as reducing pollution, the reeds oxygenate the river, allowing fish to flourish, and attracting wildlife such as watervoles and birds, including kingfishers and swans.

One reedbed we passed had a massive indentation, where you could see the remains of a swan’s nest – the cygnets now well on the way to adulthood, and probably those we saw out on the water with their parents.

Thames21 is a charity that works with communities across Greater London to improve the rivers, canals, ponds and lakes (see link below). It's already brought 600 m of new reedbeds to Lea, and plans are in hand for more. (Local residents were asked to vote where they should go.) It welcomes volunteers for its many projects, and has a regular newsletter.

Our excursion, on the aptly-named Alfred le Roy (King Alfred defeated the Danes further up the river) took us through Old Ford Lock No 19 (above) before ending at Hackney Wick. The event was part of the annual Thames Festival, which runs for the whole of September. https://www.thames21.org.uk/ 

http://totallythames.org/

Walking the Lea Valley 10: From Rye House to Ware

Who could have asked for a better day for what was probably our penultimate walk along the Lea Valley? Postponed from the previous month because of torrential rain, this ramble took us from Rye House to Ware under a cornflower blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds.

We’d stopped at Rye House before - it’s a once-splendid moated mansion built in 1443 by Sir Andrew Ogard, and was one of England’s first brick buildings - but a chance to see it in the sun drew us back. More than 50 different types of brick were used in its construction, many apparent on the former gateway.

From there we continued to follow the Lea/ Lee (there seems to be no definitive spelling), pausing to watch mother birds supervising their fast-growing chicks as they foraged for food.

There are quite a few houseboats moored along this stretch of the waterway, their decoration ranging from traditional to quirky.

I hadn’t realised Stanstead had a lock as well as an airport, but it looked to be as busy as the nearby runway.

One of the boats passing through was heading for Devizes, but expecting the journey to take at least eight weeks – slow travel at its best.

A short detour to Amwell Nature Reserve was rewarded by the sight of hundreds of birds, including a cormorant. The banks were rich with wildflowers.

There were more flowers, too, when we arrived at the historic town of Ware, which we hope to explore on our next walk. “Ware in Bloom” the signs proclaimed proudly. More of the area’s delights were highlighted at the station on a door covered with wildlife scenes. No indication of the artist, but fun to look at while waiting for the train back to London.

Walking the Lea Valley 8: Where Alfred the Great outwitted the Danes

In 894 AD, things weren’t going well for King Alfred. An army of marauding Danes had sailed up the Lea Valley, seemingly looking for somewhere to set up a base – they’d even brought wives and children with them. They established a fortified camp by the river some twenty miles north of London and a direct attack by Alfred’s troops failed to dislodge them. So the wily king tried another tactic – he diverted or blocked the river, trapping the invaders and their ships. With winter approaching and few provisions, they were forced to abandon their vessels and retreat, some to Northumbria, others returning to the continent. After that, they more or less gave up. The exact site of Alfred’s triumph isn’t known, but on our latest walk, from Cheshunt to Broxbourne, we spotted this small replica of a Viking ship (above) at the Lee Valley Boat Centre – a fitting reminder.

It was a very peaceful walk, punctuated by the cries of Canada Geese and the occasional chugging canal boat.

At Kings Weir (above) our walking group met fishery manager Barbara Newton, whose family have been associated with the area for several generations. She told us of the wide range of fish and wildlife that frequent the area – Barbel are a speciality, and can reach up to 16lb. There are also bream, perch, pike, roach and dace.

Back on the Lea Navigation, we passed a swan nesting patiently right by the towpath, and some imaginative floral decorations on one of the many canal boats moored there.

Lunch was at the Crown Inn, which has served Broxbourne for several hundred years. (The current building replaced the old Crown in the 1930s.) Then there was time for a visit to Broxbourne’s historic church, St Augustine’s.

Though the door was shut, the people at the Parish Centre kindly unlocked it and said we could stay as long as we wanted. The parish is mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086.  The date of the original chancel and nave aren’t known, but the church was rebuilt and enlarged around 1460, probably by the Lord of the Manor, Sir John Say.

The chest tomb of him and his wife Elizabeth, the brasses still resplendent with coloured enamelling, is still in the church and is a National Monument.

Nearby is the Cock family memorial, a splendid dresser tomb with life-sized effigies. Sir Henry Cock was ‘keeper of the wardrobe’ to Elizabeth I, which might explain his lavishly decorated armour. We also paused to read some of the inscriptions on the stones set in the floor. One remembers a Charles Hamilton, who ‘departed this life in 1751, aged 60, and ...died richer in a good name than wealth, and all who knew him loved him.’ A sign of how different life once was came from a Benefaction board just inside the entrance, showing charitable gifts going back to 1440. They include one from Sir William Thorowgood who in 1602 bequeathed ’26 wheat loaves, at 13 to a shilling ‘ to be given out each Sunday for ever, and provided for six sermons a year.

Outside again, and the New River, an artificial waterway opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water, took us past the churchyard and its spring blossom and back to the Lea - and the rail station. Although the name Broxbourne is believed to derive from the Old English brocc and burne, meaning badger stream, no badgers were spotted on this walk. However, the water vole apparently thrives in Silvermeade meadows, just south of the town.

Walking the Lea Valley 7 - Enfield Lock to Cheshunt

It’s not often that the remains of a ruined building are given a 4-star rating in a guidebook, but in the case of Waltham Abbey – all that's left of a once-great Augustinian monastery – it's more than justified. As our walking group passed through the heavy west doors, what we saw (above) prompted a collective gasp of wonder.

We gazed in awe at the huge Norman columns, the magnificent stained glass windows by pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones, the intricately carved reredos and the elaborate painted ceiling covered with signs of the zodiac – a recreation of Peterborough cathedral's medieval roof.

It was all the more stunning for being so unexpected.

The tower at the entrance (Tudor) is undistinguished, patched and restored, and giving no hint of the treasures within.

Our walk had started at Enfield Lock station, crossing the Turkey Brook, and heading north along the Lea Navigation, where we saw this egret.

Quite a few boats have gathered under the M25 - not the most peaceful of moorings.

From there it was only a few minutes heading east along a busy high street till we reached the Abbey, which still dominates the town centre.

Waltham’s first church was built in the 6^th c and became a place of pilgrimage when a stone crucifix was brought there from Somerset. Several centuries later, King Harold went to pray at the shrine and was cured of a serious illness. In gratitude he built a new church and after his defeat at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 was brought back for burial. What stands today dates from the Norman conquest. Henry II founded the abbey as a penance for the murder of Thomas Becket and trebled the establishment's size, but with the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII it was reduced again to just the Norman nave, which serves as the parish church.

A useful leaflet guided us round some of the building’s highlights, including the elaborate Denny tomb (above)  and a graphic 15^th c Doom mural of the Day of Judgement,  rediscovered during restoration work in the 19^th c.

Harold’s burial-place is unclear, but there’s a memorial stone outside the east end of the church. Lunch was calling, so there was a change of scene as we headed for the White Water Centre in the Lee Valley Country Park (that's their spelling).

This was built to host the canoe slalom events of the 2012 Olympics, and opened by Princess Anne in 2010. Today you can visit it and go white-water rafting, canoeing and paddle-boarding – or just take in the action. We watched while members of a group, clad in wet suits, jumped into the water and were ‘rescued’ – presumably part of a training course.

The food at the centre’s cafe was plentiful and quickly served, but sadly the terrace, which has a view over the park, was closed. Then we started along a path across the southern-most section of the 1000-acre park, which would eventually take us to Cheshunt and a train home.

We passed a strange concrete structure, covered with graffiti, that turned out to be one of the few remaining WWII Bofors anti-aircraft gun platforms and is now a scheduled monument. It was hard to imagine that this area, now so peaceful, was once part of the Outer London Anti-Tank Line, built to protect London from invasion. Today, the revitalisation of the valley - part of the Olympic legacy -has created a wildlife haven and the Regional Park Authority has produced several very informative booklets which detail what can be seen and where.

Walking along the towpath, we passed dozens of  inquisitive swans and geese, while coots were noisily making themselves heard out on the water.

It would be worth coming back in the summer when there are many more birds and we could follow the 2-mile orchid discovery trail. A park map even shows a dragonfly sanctuary – half the UK species are found there. But for now, we'll be continuing our exploration of the Lea Valley.