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 Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...

and cycleway in London, 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 ...

, on the embankment containing the

Joseph Bazalgette Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (; 28 March 1819 – 15 March 1891) was an English civil engineering, civil engineer. As Chief Engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation of the London Main Drainage, t ...

Northern Outfall Sewer The Northern Outfall Sewer (NOS) is a major gravity sewer which runs from Wick Lane in Hackney to the Beckton Sewage Treatment Works in east London. Most of it was designed by Joseph Bazalgette, as a result of an outbreak of cholera in 1853 ...

Route

The western end of the Greenway is Victoria Park, London (

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

). The route runs alongside Wick Lane, under the

East Cross Route East Cross Route (ECR) is a dual-carriageway road constructed in east London as part of the uncompleted Ringway 1 as part of the London Ringways plan drawn up the 1960s to create a series of high speed roads circling and radiating out from ce ...

to Fish Island. It then crosses the River Lea into Newham, continuing to Stratford and

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

. 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 circular walking route in London, around in length. It is 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 f ...

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 Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

and the London boroughs as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) since 2016. In mid-2018,

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

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.

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 Limited, trading as Thames Water, is a British private utility company responsible for the water supply and waste water Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking w ...

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 channel ...

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. Bow Goods yard, a large plot of land situated between the Greenway and the railway tracks between Stratford and central

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

is set to become a rail freight campus and last-mile logistics hub.

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 (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

visited London for a period of 3 months for talks on the future of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, 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. It dates back to the work of Doris and Muriel Lester, who had a nursery school in nearby Bruce Road. Their brother, Kingsley Lester, die ...

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. It is an inner-city suburb located 4.7 mil ...

. His host there, the

Christian Socialist A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

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 the East of England and Greater London. 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 Cr ...

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 on the London Main Drainage sewerage system into the Northern Outfall Sewer and the Lee Tunnel, whi ...

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, ...

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

References

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