Along The River Lee in England - a towpath walk beside the Lee River in the Enfield area.

The River passes several huge reservoirs and goes past Enfield Dock, Ramney Marsh, Waltham, Dobbs Weir before arriving at Feilde Lock.

Whilst walking by the reservoirs you get a tantalising fairly distant view of some huge old brick buildings - the picture two rows down is what seems to be a reservoir pumphouse on King George Reservoir.
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Enfield Lock, Dock and Enfield Royal Small Arms Factory.

The huge reservoirs situated alongside the river come to an end just before reaching Enfield Lock (where a British Waterways Yard is located). Enfield is famous for it's Small Arms Factory which made swords, muskets, rifles (including the Lee Enfield rifle) and machine guns (including the Bren and Sten) for the Military from 1816 until production ended in 1988. One of the reasons for this location was the ability to move parts, materials and finished products along the adjacent River Lee Navigation. The Lee enabled boat and barge access to The River Thames as well as to factories on other waterways which produced parts including the London Small Arms Factory situated on the connecting Regents Canal at Gunmakers Wharf.

The Lee Valley Regional Park in Southern England.

The Park stretches from near The Thames right up to Ware in Hertfordshire and really comes into it's own from Waltham Abbey - there are woodlands, marshes and lots of water for birdwatchers, for sailing and rowing and on land walking and cycling opportunities on many paths everywhere in the area - it really is a beautiful location to visit. Parking is widely available and as far as could be seen free of charge - another bonus for getting to and around the area is that the railway accompanies the Lee Navigation for nearly all of it's course - and the trains are frequent even on Sundays so train ride and then walk back days-out are easily possible.

A little about Waltham Abbey.

Dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1540 there is not a lot to be seen of Waltham Abbey itself apart from some old walls and gates, however Waltham Abbey Church (Holy Cross and St. Lawrence) which was erected in the 12th century has various materials from the original Abbey - for instance the tower built in 1556. The grounds are easily reached by leaving the Lee by footbridge 45 near Waltham Town Lock and along the high street - the Abbey's grounds are fairly extensive and pleasant for a stroll. Waltham Abbey is also the location of the

Royal Gunpowder Mills at Waltham

which are open from the last weekend in April to the end of September (this is their 2013 published times - check their website). The location has been producing gunpowder since at least the 17th century and was finally closed in 1991.

The Lee River in Southern England and Dobb's Weir.

The area around Dobb's Weir is particularly favoured by fishermen - bream, perch, roach, barbel and carp are caught from time to time and in 2003 a record size chub was caught there. A large old public house is right on top of the weir and there is a reasonable amount of parking available in the car park oppposite the pub. Less than a mile from Dobb's Weir the Lee Navigation meets the River Stort Navigation at Feilde's Weir - The Stort is another river navigation and creates a navigable 22km route to Bishops Stortford.