The parking co-ordinates provided are
for Orchard Place where limited and restricted parking may be available. Parking
is easiest at weekends. Assuming that parking is undertaken at the suggested
co-ordinates walk east towards Trinity Buoy Wharf. Straight ahead is the River
Lea, turning right (south) and walking past the cafe will bring the River Thames
into view and the confluence of these two rivers.
Trinity Buoy Wharf is an arty area so
have a wander around to see some of the artists' work especially the sculptures.
here is also a lighthouse, the only one in London, where you can enter for free
and go up some narrow winding steps to the deck where the lantern used to be.
This give an excellent view of the point where the two rivers join.
To the east, crossing the Thames, is
the new cable car that came into operation just before the London 2012 Olympics
opened. To the south, on the far bank of the Thames is the O2, an entertainment
venue, that used to be called The Dome. To the west can be seen the skyscrapers
of Canary Wharf. Looking north is the main road that crosses the River Lea that
is known as the Lea Crossing. At the confluence, the east bank of the River Lea
houses industrial units.
The Thames Barrier, built to protect
London from tidal surges, is a mile or so downriver from this point but cannot
be seen due to a bend in the river.
If you have access to Google Earth have
a look at this point and the curving routes that both rivers take in the area -
especially the River Lea.
Wikipedia [visit link] has an article
about the River Lea of which the following is an extract:
"The source is usually said to be
at Well Head inside Waulud's Bank at Marsh Farm, but there the River Lea is also
fed by a stream that starts 2 miles (3.2 km) further west in Houghton Regis. The
river flows through (or by) Luton, Harpenden, Welwyn Garden City, to Hertford
where it changes from a small shallow river to a deep canal at Hertford Castle
Weir, which then flows on to Ware, Stanstead Abbotts, Hoddesdon, Broxbourne,
Cheshunt, Waltham Abbey, Enfield Lock, Ponders End, Edmonton, Tottenham, Upper
Clapton, Hackney Wick, Stratford, Bromley-by-Bow (past Fish Island), Canning
Town and finally Leamouth where it meets the River Thames (as Bow Creek). It
forms the traditional boundary between the counties of Middlesex and Essex, and
was used for part of the Danelaw boundary. It also forms part of the boundary
between Essex and Hertfordshire.The source is usually said to be at Well Head
inside Waulud's Bank at Marsh Farm, but there the River Lea is also fed by a
stream that starts 2 miles (3.2 km) further west in Houghton Regis. The river
flows through (or by) Luton, Harpenden, Welwyn Garden City, to Hertford where it
changes from a small shallow river to a deep canal at Hertford Castle Weir,
which then flows on to Ware, Stanstead Abbotts, Hoddesdon, Broxbourne, Cheshunt,
Waltham Abbey, Enfield Lock, Ponders End, Edmonton, Tottenham, Upper Clapton,
Hackney Wick, Stratford, Bromley-by-Bow (past Fish Island), Canning Town and
finally Leamouth where it meets the River Thames (as Bow Creek). It forms the
traditional boundary between the counties of Middlesex and Essex, and was used
for part of the Danelaw boundary. It also forms part of the boundary between
Essex and Hertfordshire.
For much of its distance the river
runs within or as a boundary to the Lee Valley Park. Between Tottenham and
Hackney the Lea feeds Tottenham Marshes, Walthamstow Marshes and Hackney Marshes
(the latter now drained). In their early days, Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton
Orient played their matches as football amateurs on the Marshes. South of
Hackney Wick the river's course is split, running almost completely in man made
channels (originally created to power water mills, the Bow Back Rivers) flowing
through an area that was once a thriving industrial zone.
Inside Greater London below Enfield
Lock the river forms the boundary with the former Royal Small Arms Factory, now
known as Enfield Island Village, a housing development. Just downstream the
river is joined by the River Lee Flood Relief Channel. The man-made,
concrete-banked watercourse is known as the River Lee Diversion at this point as
it passes to the east of a pair of reservoirs: the King George V Reservoir at
Ponders End/Chingford and William Girling Reservoir at Edmonton known
collectively as the Chingford Reservoirs; and to the west of the Banbury
Reservoir at Walthamstow. At Tottenham Hale there is a connected set of
reservoirs; Lockwood Reservoir, High Maynard Reservoir, Low Maynard Reservoir,
Walthamstow Reservoirs, East Warwick Reservoir and West Warwick Reservoir. It
also passes the Three Mills, a restored tidal mill near Bow."
Wikipedia [visit link] also carries an
article about the River Thames. Again, the following is an extract:
"The usually quoted source of the
Thames is at Thames Head (at grid reference ST980994). This is about 1200 m
(three quarters of a mile) north of the Kemble parish church in southern
Gloucestershire, near the town of Cirencester, in the Cotswolds. Seven Springs
near Cheltenham, where the river Churn rises, is also sometimes quoted as the
Thames' source, as this location is furthest from the mouth, and adds some 14
miles (23 km) to the length. The springs at Seven Springs also flow throughout
the year, while those at Thames Head are only seasonal. The Thames is the
longest river entirely in England, but the River Severn, which is partly in
Wales, is the longest river in the United Kingdom. However, as the Churn,
sourced at Seven Springs is 14 miles (23 km) longer than the Thames (from its
traditional source at Thames head), its length 229 miles (369 km) is greater
than the Severn’s length 220 miles (350 km). Thus, the Churn/Thames river may be
regarded as the longest natural river flow in the United
Kingdom.
The Thames flows through or
alongside Ashton Keynes, Cricklade, Lechlade, Oxford, Abingdon, Wallingford,
Goring-on-Thames and Streatley, Reading, Wargrave, Henley-on-Thames, Marlow,
Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton, Staines-upon-Thames and Egham, Chertsey,
Shepperton, Weybridge, Sunbury-on-Thames, Walton-on-Thames, Molesey and Thames
Ditton. Minor redefining and widening of the main channel around Oxford,
Abingdon and Marlow took place before 1850 since which specific cuts to ease
navigation have assisted cutting journey distances.
Molesey faces Hampton, London and
in Greater London the Thames passes Hampton Court, Surbiton, Kingston,
Teddington, Twickenham, Richmond (with a famous view of the Thames from Richmond
Hill), Syon House, Kew, Brentford, Chiswick, Barnes, Hammersmith, Fulham,
Putney, Wandsworth, Battersea and Chelsea. In Central London, the river sweeps
past Pimlico, the SIS building, Vauxhall and keeps one of the principal axes of
the city, from the Palace of Westminster to the Tower of London and was the
southern boundary of the medieval city, with Southwark then part of Surrey on
the opposite bank, the nearer part of which is referred to as the South
Bank.
Past central London, the river
passes between Greenwich and the Isle of Dogs, before flowing through the Thames
Barrier, which protects central London from flooding by storm surges. Below the
barrier, the river passes Dagenham, Dartford, Tilbury and Gravesend before
entering the Thames Estuary near Southend-on-Sea."