Transport for LondonRoute details
Capital Ring Section 14: Hackney Wick to Beckton District Park
| Walk facts | Details |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 5.2 miles (8.3 km) |
| Location: | Tower Hamlets, Newham |
| Start: | White Post Lane, Hackney Wick (GR 373-845) Get there with Journey Planner |
| Finish: | Beckton District Park (Stansfeld Road, GR 422-811) |
| Factor: | Capital Ring Section 14: Hackney Wick to Beckton District Park |
| 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 |
| Points of Interest: | Lee Navigation, Old Ford Lock, GMTV studios, The Greenway, Bow Back River, Abbey Mills Pumping Station, East London Cemetery, Beckton District Park |
| Signage: | Not signed at time of writing |
| Temporary Diversions: | |
| Refreshments and toilets: | Pubs at Hackney Wick and Plaistow. Cafes at Hackney Wick and Beckton District Park. Public toilets at Beckton District Park |
| Public transport and breakpoints: | NR: Hackney Wick, West Ham. LU: West Ham, Plaistow. DLR: Pudding Mill Lane, Royal Albert. Buses at all these points (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, Heron Walk, Kingfisher Walk |
| How to get the map: | Download it from www.walklondon.org.uk or call 0870 240 6094 |
| Principal promoters: | London Walking Forum, LB Tower Hamlets, LB Newham |
Walk details:
- 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 (see Route Closures, Strategic Network, Section 2), 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, used by the Heron and Kingfisher Walks.
- 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.
