Another weekend in London – another opportunity for hiking! Today was a lovely day – warm and sunny, with flowers blooming in the parks and dooryards. I was a bit short for time so I selected a hike on the northeast edge of London, from Hackney to Walthamstow at the end of the Tube’s Victoria line. Although most of the walk was along streets or paved bike trails, the scenery varied from residential areas, to pedestrian streets on market day, to the vast Victoria Park, to the locks and canal boats along a series of three canals, to the meadows and forests of Hackney Marsh and Walthamstow Marsh.
Although I anticipated enjoying the natural scenery in the broad marshlands, they turned out to be somewhat dull. I rather liked, however, the walk along the canals – Regents Canal, Hertford Union Canal, and River Lee Navigation. Many other people were out walking, jogging, or bicycling along the towpath, enjoying this traffic-free route through the suburbs. Narrow ‘canal boats’ lined the concrete edge alongside the paved towpath. Although a few of these boats looked seaworthy (roadworthy? canalworthy?), many were in various stages of disrepair and I suspect are now used only as a stationary residence. Still, each was different, each with a distinct quirky decor and accoutrements.
I passed several locks, each just long enough (and wide enough) for a canal boat to pass, and each operated manually by pushing or pulling on massive gate levers. At one lock, I paused to watch a woman navigate her boat through the lock. As she motored out of the lock, she glanced up and very politely asked if I would close the gate behind her. No problem! It was fun to lean into the lever and experience this oh-so-simple but ingenious human invention that creates flat-water canals on gently sloping terrain.
Large areas of Walthamstow Marshes are grassy fields that had been managed, for centuries, under the the lammas system. “Under this management regime, the owner, traditionally the lord of the manor in which the meadow lies, divides the meadow into parcels of land referred to as ‘lots’ or ‘doles’. He then sells the rights to the hay crop to local farmers who are responsible for harvesting the hay in each allotment. After the hay crop has been gathered, the meadow becomes common pasture and the livestock of certain commoners are entitled to graze the entire meadow. Traditionally, the commonable rights begin on 12 August, also known as Lammas day, and end around Candelmas at the beginning of February when once again the meadow is laid up for hay. As far as is known, this system of land management has survived relatively unchanged for the past 800 years. A long continuity of past agricultural management has given rise to a very diverse and interesting floral community.” [source]
After I entered the town of Walthamstow, passing through the bustling Walthamstow market street (allegedly Europe’s longest market), I continued through quiet neighborhoods, past a fifteenth-century “wattle-and-daub” half-timber house, and stopped in at the Nags Head pub for a pizza and a pint in their sunny back garden. T-shirt weather has arrived!
Don’t miss the Photo gallery, which includes the most unusual roadside “wildlife crossing” sign I’ve ever seen!
Hike stats:
Distance: 9.2 miles (14.8km)
Gain: 119 feet
Time: 4h7m (including lunch)
GaiaGPS track
David Kotz 