| Lee Valley Regional Park | |
|---|---|
| Length | 26 miles (42 km) |
| Location | South eastern England |
| Trailheads | East India Docks, Greater London Ware, Hertfordshire[1] |
| Use | Walking, Cycling, Sport, Angling, Birdwatching, Boating, Camping, Horse riding, Ice skating, Golf |
Lee Valley Regional Park is a 10,000-acre (40 km2) 26 miles (42 km) long linear park, much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of London, Essex and Hertfordshire from the River Thames to Ware in Hertfordshire, England through areas such as Hackney, Tottenham, Enfield, Stratford, Tower Hamlets, Walthamstow, Cheshunt, Broxbourne and Hoddesdon.
The park follows the course of the River Lea (Lee) along the Lea Valley from Ware in Hertfordshire through Essex, North London and past Olympic Park to East India Dock Basin on the River Thames. The park is managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and is made up of a diverse mix of countryside areas, urban green spaces, heritage sites, country parks, nature reserves and lakes and riverside trails, as well as leading sports centres covering an area of over 10,000 acres (40 km2). It is crossed by a number of roads and railways. There are a number of major reservoirs within it, and multiple water courses, both to carry the river flow, and also to provide navigation waterways and flood relief channels.[2]
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Much of the southern half of the park will be developed to form the Olympic Park for the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Paralympics. The park will be extended through the Olympic Park down to the River Thames, adding two miles (3 km) of open space. Lee Valley Regional Park Authority will own 35 per cent of Olympic Park and will fund, manage and own four venues following the London 2012 Games – the Lee Valley White Water Centre in Hertfordshire, the London Velopark and the hockey and tennis centres located in the Olympic Park. The park is working with a range of partners including the Olympic Delivery Authority, London Development Agency and the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation to deliver a major linear park at the heart of a new urban district in the Lower Lea Valley. These venues will join the existing centres the Regional Park currently owns including Lee Valley Athletics Centre, Lee Valley Riding Centre[3] and Lee Valley Ice Centre.
Notable parts of the park include: Temple Mills, Hackney Marshes, Walthamstow Marshes, Tottenham Marshes, River Lee Country Park, Bow Creek Ecology Park and Lee Valley Reservoir Chain.
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