From The Greenway To Stratford International Station
These are pictures, I took whilst walking and riding from the ~Old Ford Recycling Centre on the Greenway to Stratford station.
Note.
The Greenway Is Open Again
The Greenway is now open again after the Olympics and I walked it from Hackney Wick station to Pudding Mill Lane DLR station, taking these pictures as I walked.
I had a coffee at the ViewTube on the way. It’s changed hands, but it’s still as good as ever.
The Busy Greenway By The Olympic Site
Before I went to lunch, I took the 488 bus to Hackney Wick and then walked to the ViewTube.
I had intended to have a coffee at one of the best places in London, but it was just so busy I moved on.
The Greenway Bridge Over Stratford High Street Nears Completion
I took some pictures of this bridge in September last year.
Here are some more recent ones from yesterday.
It looks like it’ll be on time for the Olympics.
The Greenway Bridge Over Stratford High Street
The structure of this important bridge, which is just known as Olympic Bridge T12, is now in place.
It will be much needed to get Olympic visitors from West Ham station to the site. There’s more on the bridge here.
From West Ham to Abbey Mills on the Greenway
The Greenway has now been reopened close to West Ham station and it is now possible to walk along it past Abbey Mills Pumping Station and on to Stratford again.
Note the large bridge, which I suspect will be used to take those walking to the Olympic site over Stratford High Street.
It will be good when it is fully open again from Hackney Wick to West Ham and on to Beckton. It will be one of the best walks in London.
An Insignificant Plate on the Greenway
From Pudding Mill Lane, I decided not to take the easy route of transport home, so I climbed onto the Greenway and thought about having a coffee in the ViewTube. But it was too late, as the cafe was closed. There was an American film crew there, making a piece about the Olympics, as there often is, so I gave them some of the history about the area, the sewers and Joseph Bazalgette.
Marshgate Lane Plate
This plate in the Greenway, is all that is there to indicate one of the largest of the Olympic construction contracts.
To create easy access to the Olympic site and easpecially after the Games, Marshgate Lane is being lowered so that large trucks can get in. It is not an easy job, as they are effectively having to tunnel under the Northern Outfall Sewer and as the name indicates, the area used to be a marsh. People often wonder why projects cost more and run late. This is one that has a high degree of risk, although it should be ready in time, but one misplaced action could conceivably break the sewer and cover everything in the outflow from several million toilets.
Luckily, knowing Bazalgette, he built a degree of strength into the sewer that will protect everything and everyone.
Through the Olympic Park on the Greenway
From the Top of the Morning, I had two choices. I could either walk to Hackney Wick station on the North London line, or try to find the Greenway that continued through the Olympic Park to Pudding Mill Lane on the Docklands Light Railway.
I chose the latter more in hope than expectation, as I felt that building or security considerations on the Olympic Park might mean the Greenway would be closed.
About a hundred metres south of the pub, I found this welcoming sign.
Entry to the Greenway
So I’d made the right choice.
Incidentally, the Greenway is built on top of the eastern end of the Northern Outfall Sewer, which was built in the mid-1800’s by Joseph Bazalgette, to take London’s sewage to the works at Beckton.
The Greenway gives good views of the Olympic stadium of which this is typical.
The London Olympic Stadium
Obviously, landscaping and a few other things need to be done, but it is now virtually complete.
You can also see the ArcelorMittal Orbit and the Aquatics Centre.
ArcelorMittal Orbit and the Aquatics Centre
The Orbit structure has aroused controversy, but seeing it close to, I found it rather fascinating. You can also see all of the bits lined up like groups of acrobats ready to climb into position in the tower.
I’m Ready to Ascend!
I suspect that like the Eiffel Tower has for Paris, it might end up as an icon of East London after the Games.
The one think you can’t say about it, is that it is boring! The only things that should be boring are some machine tools and tunnelling machines.
One thing that has been got right is the information for visitors, as this picture shows.
Olympic Park Panorama and Information
Do you think that the far-sighted Joseph Bazalgette had realised that his enormous sewer would one day be used as a grandstand for a construction project, of which I’m sure he would have proud? Obviously not, but with so many things he did, he got them absolutely right. And right for possibly a thousand years!
No walk is complete without a cup of something and at the south end of the portion of the Greenway that crosses the Olympic Park, there is this cafe and viewing point called ViewTube.
The ViewTube, Olympic Park, London
I had a good cappucino and a rest before walking on to Pudding Mill Lane and the DLR, where I took this final picture.
The Olympic Park from Pudding Mill Lane, DLR Station
All in all, this walk took about two hours including refreshments. On a good day, it should easily be possible to do it in the same time from the Angel at Islington to the ViewTube cafe.
But I suspect it’ll get busy!
The Anonymous Widower 