The Greenway at Stratford Marsh - geograph

The Greenway is a long

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

and

cycleway Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except wher ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, mostly in the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

, on the embankment containing the

Joseph Bazalgette Sir Joseph William Bazalgette CB (; 28 March 181915 March 1891) was a 19th-century English civil engineer. As chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation (in response to the Great Stink of 1 ...

Northern Outfall Sewer The Northern Outfall Sewer (NOS) is a major gravity sewer which runs from Wick Lane in Hackney to Beckton sewage treatment works in east London; most of it was designed by Joseph Bazalgette after an outbreak of cholera in 1853 and the "Great ...

Route

The western end of the Greenway is

Victoria Park, London Victoria Park (known colloquially as Vicky Park or the People's Park) is a park in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England. It is the largest park in Tower Hamlets and one of London's most visited green spaces with approxim ...

(

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

). The route runs alongside Wick Lane, under the East Cross Route to Fish Island. It then crosses the River Lea into Newham, continuing to Stratford and

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

. The eastern end is at Royal Docks Road in

Beckton Beckton is a suburb in east London, England, located east of Charing Cross and part of the London Borough of Newham. Adjacent to the River Thames, the area consisted of unpopulated marshland known as the East Ham Levels in the parishes of Bark ...

. The

Capital Ring The Capital Ring is a strategic walking route promoted by London's 33 local councils, led by the City of London Corporation in partnership with the Greater London Authority and its functional body for regional transport, Transport for London, ...

Walk (section 14) follows the Greenway for most of its distance, and forms part 4 of the 2012 Jubilee Greenway The western half of the Greenway embankment is roughly at house eaves height giving a view over the surrounding flat area (see gallery pictures). Between Stratford High Street and Beckton the route is flat. There is a renewed tarmac surface along its full length, with grass kept short on either side and bushes/trees on the embankment sides. The tarmac area is the width of a narrow two way road allowing easy passing of pedestrians and cyclists, with approx the same width of grass on either side. The Greenway and several surrounding areas have been recognised by the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

and the London boroughs as a

site of importance for nature conservation Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and regionally important geological site (RIGS) are designations used by local authorities in the United Kingdom for sites of substantive local nature ...

(SINC) since 2016. In mid-2018, Transport for London designated the section of the Greenway between the A13 and A118 as Quietway 22. A similar path called the Ridgeway covers the

Southern Outfall Sewer The Southern Outfall Sewer is a major sewer taking sewage from the southern area of central London to Crossness in south-east London. Flows from three interceptory sewers combine at a pumping station in Deptford and then run under Greenwich, ...

Renovation

Work has taken place to resurface and renovate the route—especially around the

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

. A community group was set up in 2016 for Greenway users, and Newham Council began piloting better lighting, with a view to opening the Greenway 24 hours a day. Greenway Users have subsequently set up a Greenway Action Group to improve the recording of incidents by logging crimes on the pathway. The renovation of the Greenway was finished in July 2019, after the completion of major water supply works by

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltshir ...

along the western half and the opening of the bridges over the

Waterworks River Waterworks River is a river, at one time a tidal river, in the London Borough of Newham, one of the Bow Back Rivers that flow into the Bow Creek part of the River Lea, which in turn flows into the River Thames. The river is an artificial chann ...

and the City Mill River. In 2022, the Greenway was the site of one of 19 projects selected by the

's Rewild London Fund to help 'rewild the city and recover nature'. The View Tube, made from recycled shipping containers, is a viewing platform on the Greenway incorporating the Container Café.

History

The older alternative name for the route is ''Sewerbank'', with the name Greenway introduced after a renovation in the mid-1990s. In 1931

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

visited London for a period of 3 months for

talks Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

on the future of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, he based himself at

Kingsley Hall Kingsley Hall is a community centre, in Powis Road, Bromley-by-Bow in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East End of London. It dates back to the work of Doris and Muriel Lester, who had a nursery school in nearby Bruce Road. Their brother, ...

Bromley-by-Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. The area is distinct from Bow, which li ...

. His host there, the

Christian Socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

Muriel Lester described his long early morning walks, beginning before sunrise, and which often took in the Sewerbank through Stratford to Plaistow. Gandhi enjoyed the elevated view the bank offered, and on these walks he would always gather a collection of well-wishers eager to speak to him.Gandhi's host at Kinsley Hall, Muriel Lester, described these walks in her account of his 3 month stay with her

Gallery

Greenway bridge over the River Lea looking north.jpg, Greenway bridge over the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

looking north Greenway junction with Stratford High Street (A118) looking west.jpg, Greenway junction with Stratford High Street (A118) looking west Northern Outfall Sewer (Greenway) over Manor Road A1011.jpg,

(Greenway) over Manor Road A1011 London Greenway footpath looking towards Canary Wharf.jpg, London Greenway footpath looking towards Canary Wharf Greenway footpath, London looking south east.jpg, Greenway footpath, London looking south east Greenway footpath, London looking at Abbey Mills pumping station.jpg, Greenway footpath, London looking at

Abbey Mills pumping station Abbey Mills Pumping Station is a sewage pumping station in Mill Meads, East London, operated by Thames Water. The pumping station lifts sewage from the London sewerage system into the Northern Outfall Sewer and the Lee Tunnel, which both run to ...

Greenway overlooking Brampton Manor Academy.jpg, Greenway overlooking

Brampton Manor Academy Brampton Manor Academy (formerly Brampton Manor School) is an 11–19 mixed, secondary school and selective sixth form with academy status in East Ham, London, England. It is the second largest school in the London Borough of Newham. In 2019, 4 ...

Greenway overlooking Newham University Hospital.jpg, Greenway overlooking

Newham University Hospital Newham University Hospital is an acute general hospital situated in Plaistow, Newham, Plaistow in the London Borough of Newham. It is managed by Barts Health NHS Trust. History The hospital was built to replace Queen Mary's Hospital for the East ...

Greenway entrance at Newham Way (A13) looking east.jpg, Greenway entrance at Newham Way (A13) looking east

References

Map

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenway Transport in the London Borough of Newham Cycleways in London Greenways London water infrastructure Elevated parks Stratford, London Footpaths in London