Lea Bridge
From Free net encyclopedia
Current revision
- for the place in Derbyshire see Lea Bridge, Derbyshire
Template:Infobox London place Image:Princess of wales lea bridge 1.jpg
Lea Bridge is a district of the London Borough of Hackney. It is situated to the northeast of the borough and bounded by Upper Clapton to the north, Lower Clapton to the south, and the River Lee to the east. On the other side of the bridge after which the area is named is Leyton in the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
The bridge is a major bottleneck at some times of day, as the nearest major river crossing to the south is at Hackney Wick and to the north at Tottenham Hale.
In spite of the traffic, the area is well supplied with open space, dominated by Millfields recreation grounds, south of which is the site of the old coal-fired Millfields power station, now disused except as a sub-station. This was built in 1901, well before the creation of the National Grid in 1938, a period when power had to be generated close to home. The immediate result was the introduction of electric street lighting throughout the then Metropolitan Borough of Hackney.
Lea Bridge gives ready access to the lower reaches of the extensive Lee Valley Park, which stretches for about 42 kilometres on both banks of the river. Next to the south side of the bridge are two likeable pubs, the Princess of Wales and The Ship Aground—much appreciated oases for those returning from long hikes up the Lee.
Not far from Lea Bridge, one of the few remaining working Beam Engines is on display.
Nearest Railway Station
External links
- Lee Valley Park
- The River Lee (for young people)