You are at the sixth stop on the audio tour of the Bow Back Rivers. Play the audio file below to hear the first track for this location.
This track gives a quick overview of the location, and where to go from here.
You have reached the edge of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and meet our fifth and final waterway, the Lee Navigation…that’s spelt L-E-E because this section is manmade. In fact this section is called the Hackney Cut, constructed as a broad and straight piece of waterway to avoid the twists and turns of the old River Lea.
Canals are all about connections, not speed. If you passed through Old Ford Lock going south, you drop down to the River Thames, which once gave you access to hundreds of busy wharfs and docks, and the wider world. If you go north, you can get your boat to Hertford. Years ago you would have met barges full of grain going from Hertfordshire to London, destined for grinding in the mills along the Bow Back Rivers.
Today this is an area in flux, as the buildings change from their old industrial purposes, and new homes and jobs are created in the area surrounding the Park.
Your route continues up the Lee Navigation. In two places the path rises slightly. Stop at the second of these raised areas for the next point.
This page is part of Start the audio trail
