Capital Ring: Finsbury Park to River Lee

19 January 2008

With the weather set to be wet, I decided that it was a good opportunity to test my new waterproof coat but on a shorter walk than has become normal for me. As I'm now walking the River Lea Walk, part of which coincides with the Capital Ring, a walk along part of the Capital Ring as far as the Lee seemed to offer the opportunity for a two-birds-with-one-stone walk later in the year without leaving an untidy gap. So with the train taken to Finsbury Park it was on with the waterproofs and ho! for Springfield Marina.

Finsbury Park in the rain, and the marker post directs us along the link walk to the Capital Ring itself.

Ellie, starting to get damp

Following the Capital Ring through Finsbury Park

After Finsbury Park, the route joins the New River, and for a little while we follow a route that we have already walked

The New River here passes the reservoirs at Stoke Newington which it supplies with water.

The New River Path was very muddy in places

Safely away from the New River and its muddy path, we walk through Clissold Park.

As we emerge from Clissold Park, a view of the new Stoke Newington church from the back of Clissold House. The sign tells us that it is 13 miles to Woolwich Foot Tunnel and 30 miles to Crystal Palace Park.

After Clissold Park there was some road walking and then the Ring goes through Abney Park cemetery.  This is a very odd place, and was solely for "non-conformists" with more than 300,000 graves over 32 acres. It is hugely overgrown after being abandoned, but as it once rivalled Kew Gardens with 2500 different species it is a fascinating and peaceful place to wander through, even in the rain.

After a bit more road walking, we went into Springfield Park, London's first Regionally Important Geological Site, where the underlying geology is apparently more obvious than elsewhere in London. 

At the bottom of the park we reached the River Lee Navigation

The sign shows that we have reached the Lea Valley Walk.

While one day the route lies across the navigation and southwards along the Capital Ring and Lea Valley Walk, today we walk north for a short while to reach our lift home.

My new waterproof coat passed its first test with flying colours - lots of ingenious pockets too.

Zoom in for more detail, or see map in larger window: Ordnance Survey | Open Street Map | Google Maps

Total distance: 7.9 km [including station links and 7.0 km on the Capital Ring]  with 81 metres of ascent in 1 hours 45 minutes.