Channelsea is a hidden tidal creek where at low tide there is more mud than water and much loved by waterfowl who can be seen paddling over the surface. Few people come here to visit - it is out of the way but can be reached by walking along The Greenway from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and finding the path that leads to the creek. This is one of East London's best kept secret open spaces - and yet is close to the built up and busy Stratford Town Centre.
The path alongside the creek is so concealed that it is rare to meet another person here but there is nearly always a bird on the ground just ahead - it is worth treading quietly so that it can be seen close up before it realises and takes flight.
Follow the the path and cross the bridge to Three Mills Island. This is just a short walk but takes in a quieter and wilder stretch of the River Lea.
For a circular walk that leads back to Stratford, head towards the mills and across the cobbled stoned road and down to the River Lea Towpath. But sometimes it is better to retrace the footsteps already taken. There are good reasons to do this.
Often there are sights to be seen that were somehow missed coming from the other direction and the views are different on the return journey. And there is less chance of getting lost.
East London has many interconnected paths. They were not planned this way but are the result of layers of developments over the centuries which have endowed us with a network of routes - away from busy roads and into the hidden countryside of the Capital.
Start from Hackney Wick or Stratford and return to Hackney Wick or Stratford.
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