The Lea Valley Walk - A London Walk

Split into 20 stages this 50 mile walk is one of the finest and most varied walking routes around the capital, tracing the route of the River Lea from Leagrave, near Luton to Island Gardens at Greenwich where it joins the Thames Path.

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11: Cheshunt to Ponders End

4½ miles (7km)

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This stretch takes the walk past Waltham Abbey, where the Norman church divides the market town from the rich watermeadows. The river here was first improved for navigation in the late 12th century by the abbot. Further south the route passes into Greater London. Ponders End does have a station, but a new bridge at Mossop’s Creek provides a route to Brimsdown Station, where trains stop at least hourly.

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CHESHUNT
Cheshunt comes from ‘Chestrehunt’, recorded in the Domesday Book and meaning the Roman ‘fort in a wood’. The Roman road Ermine Street runs along the west side of the old village in Churchgate. To the south was Theobalds (now Cedars Park), where in 1603 James VI of Scotland stayed for four days on his way to London to accept the throne of England. He took such a liking to the building that within four years he had exchanged it for the royal palace at Hatfield (see section 5). James, who introduced elephants and camels, as well as building a nine-mile wall around the estate, died there in the presence of his son Charles, who also set out from here to enter London as a new king. Tesco’s headquarters are in Cheshunt, as a result of founder Jack Cohen buying greenhouses and fields in the valley, to supply fresh greengrocery items to his shops. Windmill Lane, linking the station to the main road, recalls the windmill that stood north of the lane and opposite the Windmill pub until 1845.

To reach the walk from Cheshunt Station: turn right out of the station to follow Windmill Lane over the Small River Lea and through the car park.

The riverside path, with water and houseboats on the left, runs in a straight line to Waltham Common Lock. Then the view ahead is of the high footbridge, with a glimpse of Friday Lake on the far side. At the footbridge, linking Cheshunt Marsh with Waltham Marsh, there is a stone from the 1838 London Bridge, marking the opening of this green area by Prince Philip.

Ahead are Waltham Lock and Waltham Town Bridge. Pass the lock and go under the road to the former Old English Gentleman pub, where a slope runs up to the road.

Only to reach Waltham Abbey and the Royal Gunpowder Mills, go up the slope and turn right (east). Waltham Cross Station is ¾ mile to the left (west).

WALTHAM ABBEY CHURCH
Waltham Abbey church was the heart of an Augustinian monastery founded in 1177 as part of Henry II’s penance for St Thomas Becket’s murder. Waltham means ‘weald homestead’, and the first church was built here in about 1030 to house a miraculous cross brought by King Canute’s standard bearer. King Harold prayed before the cross in 1066 on his way to defeat at the Battle of Hastings, and afterwards he was buried in the church – the now truncated building has left a tombstone outside the church’s east end. Queen Eleanor’s body rested here in the abbey church on its way from Nottinghamshire to Westminster Abbey – hence Eleanor Cross at nearby Waltham Cross, which is the last in the chain of 12 before Charing Cross. Later the abbey was a refuge for Richard II during the Peasants’ Revolt.

It is suggested that the Church’s cataclysmic break with Rome had its seeds here in 1529, when future archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who was temporarily resident, discussed Henry VIII’s desire for a divorce during a royal visit. The large abbey was the very last to be closed by Henry VIII and so survived until 1540. Among those displaced by its closure was the organist and composer Thomas Tallis.

The landmark tower was built shortly afterwards in Mary I’s reign, to replace a central one that collapsed. Most of the buildings have gone, but the impressive church remains, with an east end window by Burne Jones, and a rare display of the signs of the zodiac painted on the ceiling in 1860. The Lady Chapel has a fascinating 15th-century doom painting. The effigies of Elizabethan Sir Edward Denny and his wife (right of high altar) have been described as having the appearance of a couple relaxing in front of a television. In the 19th century Waltham’s bells inspired Tennyson’s poem ‘Ring Out Wild Bells’. Here too the carol ‘Hark, the Herald Angels Sing’ was first set to the now familiar Mendelssohn tune. Lychgate House, the teashop in the churchyard, dates from 1420 – the date 1600 above the door refers to improvements – and was probably a priest’s house. Market day is Tuesday, and according to the1244 charter granted to the abbot, no other market may be held within a radius of 6²⁄₃ miles. The Greenwich Meridian is marked on the ground in Sun Street, where the Epping Forest Museum (open Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat and summer Sun; 2–5pm; free) is housed in two Tudor buildings.

CORNMILL MEADOWS
Cornmill Meadows, reached by a subway to the north of the abbey, is a dragonfly sanctuary. Here, in an area bounded by the Old River Lea and Cornmill Stream (dug in the 12th century), can be found (between May and September) at least 21 different types of dragonfly – half the native species – making this the best place to see dragonflies in Greater London and the Home Counties. Alongside (east side of stream) is the former GLC arboretum, bisected by the Greenwich Meridian Line, which can be followed between two granite sculptures.

ROYAL GUNPOWDER MILLS
The abbey mills were taken over for gunpowder production as early as 1561. The government took control in 1780 following difficulties in the American War of Independence. Gunpowder was taken in sailing barges down the River Lea to the Thames and on to Woolwich for the Napoleonic Wars. In 1815 William Congreve, comptroller of the Royal Laboratory at Woolwich, whose son worked at Three Mills (see section 16), introduced a number of improvements. By the Second World War, when the Dambuster bombs were being made, the workforce totalled 3000. The Ministry of Defence withdrew in 1991, leaving an overgrown area which included 30 herons’ nests and one of the UK’s largest flocks of siskins. Rampant alder and willow, planted for making charcoal (a gunpowder ingredient), were a major feature. Open summer weekends and bank holidays, 11am–5pm; admission charge.

Join the towpath at Waltham Town Bridge – the water is to the left. After a few yards there is the Riverside Café and a high bridge over Hazlemere Marina. Here the river bends to pass a pumping station and run alongside an industrial estate. On the far bank there is a long ‘island’ belonging to Islington Sea Scouts, with a flood channel running behind on the east side. Beyond the M25 bridge the path is alongside the now raised Rammey Marsh. Ahead is Rammey Marsh Lock.

RAMMEY MARSH LOCK
Rammey Marsh lock dates from 1863, when the straight cut was dug. However, the lock has an 1835 cast-iron bridge. The marsh is to be the temporary relocation site of downstream Eastway Cycle Circuit, which is making way for the Olympic Park.

The path now runs in a straight line, with some houseboats opposite, as far as a partly demolished bridge at the bend where the water divides to create Enfield Island. Soon, across the water, there is a row of cottages (dating from 1857) on a thin strip of land with water on both sides and the main island behind. Ahead is the bridge leading to Enfield Island. (Enfield Lock Station is to the right, past the Greyhound and beyond the main road, in Ordnance Road. A Premier Travel Inn, also known as the Innova Park Inn, can be reached from here; see accommodation listing below.)

ENFIELD ISLAND VILLAGE
Enfield Island Village is the new name for the former Royal Small Arms Factory site, which is surrounded by water. The factory’s first buildings on the artificial island were ready for use in 1816, using a mill for power. New buildings were added in the 1850s as the private gun trade failed to satisfy government standards. At one time as many as 1700 people worked on the island, where the famous Lee-Enfield rifle was manufactured (Lee comes not from the river, but from James Paris Lee, who developed the weapon). The Government Row cottages, built in 1857 and facing the towpath, originally housed workers. The island once had a church, a school and a police station. Enfield Lock Station was at first called Ordnance Factory Station. The factory closed in 1987, but the residential development has preserved some buildings, including the clock tower.

After the Greyhound (right) the towpath is parallel to a road. Across the water can be seen the cottages on Enfield Island. At Enfield Lock the Lea Valley Walk is briefly joined by the London Outer Orbital Path, known as the London LOOP. (The LOOP can be followed west for 1½ miles to Myddelton House, which has a famous garden – see directions and opening times at the end of this section.)

At Enfield Lock cross the road bridge below the lock to find the towpath on the opposite bank near the Rifles pub. Follow the path for a short distance to cross the entrance to the Swan and Pike Pool, where there is a LOOP information board.

Leaving the LOOP, continue ahead along the towpath to pass under a former railway bridge which carried the line from the arms factory. Shortly afterwards there is a view across to the mouth of Turkey Brook, which rises near Potters Bar to flow across Enfield Chase and enter the Lea, just swollen by the Small River Lea. Ahead, as the river bends, is a large power station.

Over to the left is massive King George’s Reservoir, while alongside the path there may be horses or cattle. Early on there is a glimpse of the capital ahead, in the form of Canary Wharf Tower’s pointed roof. The western bank is Brimsdown Factory Estate.

The blue bridge gives access to the path alongside Mossop’s Creek and can be used to reach Brimsdown Station (see below).

MOSSOP’S CREEK
Mossop’s Creek was dug in the 1890s by Mosses and Co. Gravel Extraction Works. Its barges continued to be loaded here until 1922, when Johnson Matthey bought the land bounded by the creek’s southern bank for its base-metal by-product smelting. The industry continues here with just a single modern chimney. On the creek’s north side, from 1910 and for most of the 20th century, the Ruberoid factory produced roofing materials.

Continue south past the creek and the Johnson Matthey complex – next door is the overhanging canopy of the former British Waterways transhipment depot. Just downstream on the same bank is the end of Ponders End’s Duck Lees Lane (see Ponders End, section 12). Four tall tower blocks behind the mill are today’s landmarks at Ponders End on the far bank. The millstream can be seen on the right just before the towpath draws level with the Navigation Inn. Pass under the flyover to reach Ponders End Lock and the bridge.

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ACCESS AND FACILITIES

To reach Ponders End Station
Cross the bridge to follow Wharf Road to Mill Lodge at the far end. Use the high footbridge to cross the main road and reach the station.

Refreshments
Cheshunt: tea room at YHA Lee Valley Village. Open some weekends and most days in school holidays.
Cheshunt: the Windmill, next to the station. Food 12–2pm.
Waltham Abbey: Abbey Cornmill Tea Room, behind tourist information centre in Highbridge Street. 9.30am–4pm.
Waltham Abbey: Philpott’s Tea Rooms, Lichgate House (in abbey churchyard). 9am–4pm or later.
Waltham Abbey: McDonald’s, High Bridge Street (just east of river). Open all day.
Waltham Abbey: Riverside Café (on towpath south of bridge). 7am–3pm.
Enfield Lock Island Bridge: the Greyhound. Open all day.

Accommodation
Cheshunt: YHA Lee Valley Village EH9 9AJ, tel 01992 628392 www.yha.org.uk
Cheshunt: 14 Ashdown Crescent EN8 ORE, tel 01992 628853. Turn off the towpath at the first Cheshunt signpost after Cheshunt Lock, and beyond the level crossing go right into Elm Drive, www.heathers-bb.co.uk
Rammey Marsh: Innova Park Premier Travel Inn, Solar Way EN3 7XY, tel 0870 238 3306. At Enfield Lock Island Bridge turn right to pass the Greyhound, cross the main road ahead and go right into Electric Avenue.

Transport
Cheshunt: National Rail.
Ponders End: National Rail.

Tourist Information
Waltham Abbey: 4 Highbridge Street EN9 1DE, tel 01992 652295. For accommodation e-mail tic@walthamabbey.org.uk

Map
OS Explorer 174 (Epping Forest & Lee Valley).

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Diversion to Myddelton House

Turn right at Enfield Lock to follow the London Outer Orbital Path (LOOP) along a footpath and over a footbridge spanning a main road. Behind there is a view of the Sewardstone Hills in Essex and the reservoir. Continue forward alongside Turkey Brook and over Newbury Avenue. At the far end, by Bradley Road (right), go left over Turkey Brook to follow the opposite bank and cross the railway at the footbridge. Continue north along Prince of Wales footpath beside Turkey Brook (right) in Albany Park. At the far end the path is enclosed before meeting a road. Go right into St Stephen’s Road to reach a main road. Go right and left into Turkey Street just before the Sun and Woolpack. When the LOOP turns left off Turkey Street, keep ahead past Turkey Street Station. Use the pedestrian underpass to cross the dual carriageway and continue forward over the New River to a junction. Myddelton House is ahead.

MYDDELTON HOUSE
Myddelton House is a detached section of the Lee Valley Regional Park, and also its headquarters. The house, named after Sir Hugh Myddelton of the New River fame (see section 6), dates from 1815, and replaces one occupied since 1724 by the family with the controlling interest in the New River Company. Henry Carington Bowles, who died here in 1918, was the New River’s last governor. His son, the famous gardener EA Bowles, was born in 1865 and lived here continuously until his death in 1954, when the house was still without electricity or a telephone – Bowles feared that calls would distract him from gardening. The garden, which embraces part of a filled-in loop of the New River, contains the market cross from nearby Enfield, and Bowles’ ‘Lunatic Asylum’ area, where a contorted hazel is known as ‘Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick’. The garden is open Mon–Fri 10am–4.30pm (Oct– Mar 3pm), and summer Sun 12–4pm; admission charge.

Diversion along Mossop’s Creek

To reach Brimsdown Station cross the bridge and walk up the creek. Keep ahead along Stockingwater Lane to pass Matalan. Go right at the main road and cross the road at the junction to Green Street and Brimsdown Station. McDonald’s is to the right and the Izaac Walton pub is on the far side of the level crossing.