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canalised, the Pudding Mill River disappeared
entirely and the Three Mills Lock was built at
the Prescott Channel (no, not
that
Prescott!)
to maintain water levels so that construction
materials for the Olympic Park could arrive on
350 tonnes barges. The work was done but the
ambitious plan for the construction materials
arriving by barge never happened.
South of Stratford and the Olympic Park there
are two routes to the Thames. The River Lea
itself runs down through the tidal Bow Creek,
with its dramatic bends sweeping around the
not very pretty Pura Foods factory and on under
a tidal barrier to the Thames at Trinity Buoy
Wharf, more or less opposite the Millennium
Dome.
Our route however takes us the preferred route
of most small boats through the Limehouse
Cut to the Regents Canal Dock which since
the regeneration of the Docklands began back
in the 1980s has been more popularly referred
to as the Limehouse Basin.
Arrow straight and two miles long the
Limehouse Cut is the oldest canal in London.
It links the River Lee at Bromley-by-Bow with
the Thames avoiding the long loop around the
Isle of Dogs. This shortcut was built in the
1770s and enabled narrow boats and sailing
barges to use new safe pound locks which
replaced the rather alarming earlier version on
the tidal River known as flash locks. I won’t go
into the technicalities of flash locks but suffice
to say they performed upon fragile boats the
same sort of effect that shaking a bottle of
champagne has upon its cork!
Like many of our old industrial canals that
pass through cities the Limehouse Cut is in
historical transition with a mixture of old
factories and new canal side apartments.
The Limehouse Cut today leads into the
Limehouse Basin which was built as
London’s canal port on the River Thames
originally to serve the Regents Canal, part
of the Grand Union Canal. Today this is a 90
berth marina with old barges and posh yachts
bobbing cheek-by-jowl against a backdrop
of the London Docklands.
Interested?
The
London Olympic Canal Trip
is only
available Monday to Thursdays from
24 September until 25 October 2012.
Come and enjoy a round up of London 2012
in the immediate aftermath of the Games.
Your day will include visits to Westfield
Stratford City and historic Limehouse as
well as the 90 minute Olympic Canal Cruise.
Adults & Seniors: £19.95
First Come First Served!