Transport for London. The Jubilee Greenway. Section 4 of 10.

Victoria Park to North .

Section start: Victoria Park - Canal Gate. Nearest stations Cambridge Heath or .. to start: Section finish: Stokes Road, North Beckton. Nearest stations Bus stops on Lonsdale Avenue and Boundary Lane - to finish: bus 104 or 376 to Upton Park . Section distance: 5 miles (8 kilometres) Introduction. Beginning at Victoria Park, this section goes past the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at Stratford, along the Greenway, a route created above the main sewerage system of London and used by visitors to the London 2012 Games. The Greenway is closed at night. It is open 05 30-2100 1 April to 30 September and 05 30-1900 1 October to 31 March. Watch out for ongoing diversions on this section in relation to the ongoing transformation of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and construction of Crossrail. Look out for the Jubilee Greenway discs in the pavement as you Continues below go round. Directions. Enter Victoria Park from the Regent's Canal at its north-west corner at Canal Gate. Take the first entrance into the park on the left, up some steps. There are other, more accessible routes further along. Turn right and continue around to the lake where you will see the cafe. There are also toilets here. Did you know? Victoria Park covers 218 acres and was originally laid out by Sir James Pennethorne between 1842 and 1846; he had been a pupil of the architect, John Nash, and was himself Architect to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. Victoria Park's design was much inspired by Nash's work at Regent's Park.

Skirt around the lake in Victoria Park and come out of the blue gates (the Crown Gates west) at Grove Road, cross the zebra crossing, and enter the park again through a second set of blue gates (Crown Gates East). After 50 metres, bear right on a pathway that runs more or less parallel with the . Keep along here for over 900 metres, an athletics track is on the left. Keep ahead past the athletics club for a further 150 metres until an open crossroads in the park is reached, then turn right to St Mark's Gate, passing Montessori on the Park on the right. Having turned right, follow the pathway for about 100 metres to exit Victoria Park onto Wick Lane. Go over the Hertford Union Canal at Mitford Bridge, and then under the A12 in a road tunnel. About 85 metres after the road tunnel, cross over the road and join the Greenway on the left, opposite the tall chimney. It is marked by a blue bollard and by a metal banner overhead, which in fact is made out of old sewage pipes! Did you know? The Greenway runs along the top of the . A gravity sewer, most of it was designed by the famous as part of his London sewerage system, following the Big Stink of 1858.

Proceed along the Greenway. After about 250 metres, cross the River - this is where the Jubilee Greenway and the Walk join. The routes run together for the next three miles.

Continue along the Greenway, where to both left and right is the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the main site of the London 2012 Games and now open to the public. At the next bridge, over Pudding Mill Lane, go straight over the top - but just afterwards look for a ramp leading down to street level. The railway track (the main line between Liverpool Street and East Anglia) ahead intersects the Greenway, so to pass this go under the railway at street level along Marshgate Lane. A sharp left immediately after the railway bridge would bring you back onto the Greenway at this point. But due to construction, keep following Marshate Lane and turn left immediately after the river. Follow the riverside path before turning right at Blaker Road to join Stratford High Street. Turn left at the High Street and use the crossing facility to rejoin the Greenway further ahead on the other side of the road. The Greenway then passes various housing estates, bridges, and gives distant views of the massive office blocks at Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs. About 400 metres further on, you cross over a bridge at Abbey Lane, under which the Meridian Line runs. On an iron feature in the ground is the inscription: "Stand now at this month with your back to the sun - you wake in the morning the day has begun". On the right, set a little below the Greenway is the Abbey Mills Pumping Station, a further reminder that the walk is on top of London's sewers. The Channelsea Creek splits in two here. Did you know? The Byzantine style Abbey Mills Pumping Station was also designed by Joseph Bazalgette and finished in 1868. It is sometimes known as the Cathedral of Sewage and continues to perform a role as a standby facility.

Next cross more ; on the right Abbey Creek flows to the right and Channelsea Creek to the left. Cross Canning Road, which comes up to the level of the Greenway here. Cross the Jubilee Line and Manor Road by a concrete bridge straight ahead.

The O2 Arena (formerly the Millennium Dome) can be seen, in the distance, to the right, and a Victorian school to the left (Ranelagh Primary School). This is Plaistow, where on the right is a field, where Rugby is played under the auspices of the East London RFC. Behind that is the Memorial Recreation Ground. Cross over a railway bridge. The Greenway veers to the right at this point (there is a sign to Plaistow Underground station to the left). Next, very close to the Greenway, is the East London Cemetery.

Four roads need to be crossed; use the metal banner signs as your guide. First, cross Upper Road (Plaistow) at a pelican crossing. In the distance, three miles away, looms the Barking Creek Flood Barrier, which towers 183 feet above the mouth of the River Roding and the . After 500 metres, cross Balaam Street at a pelican crossing, then, after 225 metres, cross Barking Road at another pelican crossing. St. Andrew's Church (built in 1870) is to the right, and after about 175 metres, cross Prince Regent Lane at the pelican crossing. There is an automatic toilet to the left along Barking Road and Prince Regent Lane, at the point where these two roads meet. These stretches are well signposted with Capital Ring signs, which give the distances (5 and a half miles from here to the Woolwich Foot Tunnel). Pass Newham University Hospital on the right and cross Boundary Lane (Beckton), a small road with a raised table crossing. Immediately after the school playground of Brampton Manor School, between two metal banners, find Capital Ring signs which direct you to the right. Follow them, to turn off the Greenway, by going through double gates (two metal banners), and going down either via steps or by a cycle ramp. This is the end of section four. For buses, either leave the Greenway embankment on the other side to find bus stops in Lonsdale Avenue, or retrace your steps back to the other side of the hospital, where there are bus stops in Boundary Lane.