Stratford to Canary Wharf via Limehouse Cut

An interesting, but industrial, walk from the Olympic Park to the skyscrapers in Docklands.

Technical sheet

n°2581666

Creation:
19 Sep 2019

Last update:
23 Oct 2019

Last review:
4 Feb 2020

Activity: Walking
Distance: 9.09 km
Calculated time: 2h 40
Difficulty: Easy
Return to departure point: No
Vertical gain: + 34 m
Vertical drop: - 35 m
Highest point: 39 m
Lowest point: -2 m

Country: United Kingdom
District: London Borough of Newham
Start: N 51.541674° / W 0.002154°
End: N 51.506819° / W 0.01643°
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Description

(S) The walk starts at Stratford railway station, follow the exit signs for the park via the Westfield shopping mall.

(1) Head towards the London Stadium passing to the North of the Aquatics Centre. Then, follow the edge of the stadium to the South, going down the steps to Marshgate Lane, at the bottom. There are a couple of opportunities to climb up onto the straight footpath and cycleway, the Greenway, along this road. Continue along the Greenway, using the diversion at Marshgate Lane to cross under the railway.

(2) The Greenway continues just on the other side of the bridges via a steep slope to the left. Pudding Mill Lane Docklands Light Railway is to the right. Follow the Greenway across the first river crossing and then the junction with the busy main road.

(3) Cross the road using the pedestrian crossing. Continue along the Greenway as far as the right turn to Three Mills.

(4) Leave the Greenway and turn right to follow the path to Three Mills - it will bend sharply to the right and then, head to Three Mills Lock.

(5) Cross via the footbridge onto Three Mills Island, and follow the path on the South of the circle. Turning left before the bridge leads into the old mills, an area worth exploring, after which the route turns left.

(6) The path passes along a thin strip of land between the River Lea and what becomes Limehouse Cut. Follow this under the railway bridge.

(7) At Bow Locks, follow the footbridge over the top of the locks after which the path heads off to the right along Limehouse Cut. Part of this is towpath, but part is a boardwalk built along the edge of the water. After passing underneath Commercial Road and the Docklands Light Railway, look for gardens on the left.

(8) At these gardens, Ropemakers Fields, turn off the path and walk up through the gardens, towards a road. There are signs directing to Canary Wharf, but it is possible to walk straight through to the River Thames.

(9) Turn left on to the Thames Path. The business district of Canary Wharf will be immediately obvious.

(10) Follow the Thames Path to Westferry Circus, and from there, head into Canary Wharf. Crossrail Place is worth exploring as well as the rest of the business area, after which return to Stratford is either using the DLR or the Jubilee Line. (E)

Waypoints

S : km 0 - alt. 5 m - Stratford Railway Station
1 : km 1.64 - alt. 7 m - London Stadium
2 : km 2.32 - alt. 6 m - Pudding Mill Lane DLR
3 : km 2.71 - alt. 10 m - Road Crossing
4 : km 3.41 - alt. 6 m - Path to Three Mills
5 : km 4.4 - alt. 5 m - Three Mills Island
6 : km 4.7 - alt. 2 m - Path on land between two waterways
7 : km 5.07 - alt. 2 m - Bow Locks
8 : km 7.34 - alt. 7 m - Ropemakers Fields
9 : km 7.79 - alt. 8 m - Thames Path
10 : km 8.05 - alt. 16 m - Westferry Circus
E : km 9.09 - alt. 4 m - Crossrail Place

Practical information

There are plenty of places to eat and drink at the start and end of this walk.

Note that as the walk starts near the London Stadium, this area will be very busy on event days, and crowd control measures could make the walk difficult.

Reviews and comments

3 / 5

Based on 3 reviews

Reliability of the description
3 / 5

Clarity of route map
2.7 / 5

Route interest
3.3 / 5

npel

Feb 04, 2020 at 15:44 EST

I've been told that this work has now been completed and the tow path is open again, however I'm not currently in a position to verify this myself.

Cheers,
Neil

npel

Feb 02, 2020 at 11:03 EST

Thanks for the update on the closure, I wasn't aware. It is documented here:

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/1...

However the dates given are 09/09/2019 to 13/12/2019 so I'm guessing the work hasn't gone according to schedule, as I did the walk on 19/09/2019 and it was open when it should have apparently been closed.

Cheers,
Neil.

Havana2016

Feb 02, 2020 at 03:20 EST

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of walk : 24/01/20
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Some good parts to this walk. However, the section from Stratford was disappointing. Too much time spent walking through what was quite a derelict area near Pudding Mill Lane Station. Once reaching the towpath there were one or two interesting sights ie Three Mills. Unfortunately, a section past Bow Lock is closed due to some kind of building works so we couldn’t reach Canary Wharf.

mikedraper

Jan 28, 2020 at 15:09 EST

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : 25/01/20
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

If you have never been to the Olympic Park, you could easily add a walk around the many venues to the beginning of the walk. There is a good cafe called The View Tube (painted green) on the Greenway almost where the path drops down to Marshgate Lane. The path from the Greenway to Three Mills Lock is muddy and waterproof shoes/boots are advised. As you leave three Mills Island, there is an 18th Century tidal mill open to the public (from May onwards). The walk down Limehouse Cut is easy and at the bottom you can either follow this published walk and go to the Thames and Canary Wharf or you could continue to Limehouse Basin where other options are avaiilable such as a longer walk up the Regent's Canal or cutting short and travelling from Limehouse DLR, or along the Thames Path.

neilbarnes

Nov 11, 2019 at 04:22 EST

Overall rating : 3 / 5

Date of walk : 10/11/19
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average

Olympic par OK, Canary Wharf OK. Three Mille Island good. Simply walking along the South Bank is considerably more interesting.

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The GPS track and description are the property of the author.

Author

npel
2 walks

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