A couple walking through a field of long grass and hedges on a summers day

Walthamstow Marshes

Walthamstow Marshes, Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, London E10 7QL

Never sleeps, open 24 hours a day

As one of the last remaining floodplain marshlands in London, Walthamstow Marshes is a precious, urban refuge for over 400 plant and animal species.

info@leevalleypark.org.uk

03000 030 610

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Facilities

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How to get here

You can plan your journey to the site using Google maps – click on the site in the map to discover more.

We’re within London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone. Find out more about ULEZ >

Car parking

There's car parking available at Lee Valley Ice Centre. The car park is payable and you can see the charges on their website.

Lee Valley Ice Centre

History of the site

Walthamstow Marshed is an area of wetland bordering the River Lea and nestled between Hackney and Waltham Forest. It’s one of the last remaining examples of London’s once vast and widespread floodplain grasslands. From Saxon times until well into the 20th century the marsh was used as “Lammas land”, a place for local people to cut hay and graze their livestock.

In 1909, the pioneer, Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe became the first Englishman to fly an all-British made triplane (The Yellow Terror) on Walthamstow Marshes. A blue plaque commemorating his efforts is located at the western end of the viaduct where he built his machine.

During the industrial revolution, the land retained its agricultural use, though increasingly hemmed in by surrounding developments. The impact of aggressive industrial urbanisation pressured local agricultural communities into relinquishing the ancient traditions of hay making and grazing. As a consequence the local council acquired the site with plans to develop it for recreational use, proposals which were hindered by the onset of World War II and the resulting period of austerity. WWII left its scars on the landscape across the Lee Valley, signs of anti-landing trenches and the impacts from shelling are still visible today.

Images from under the railways arches, there are people cycling and walking on the canal path

In 1965, Walthamstow Marshes was acquired by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority as part of its plans to acquire the land which now forms the Lee Valley Regional Park. What would now be considered as a programme of rewilding was ushered in across many of the sites still under management by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, however, the focus here at Walthamstow was on the preservation of the marshes as they existed then. Pressure from local campaigners to stop development from encroaching on the site means that Walthamstow Marshes has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1985.

It has since been further designated a nature reserve. The reserve is now actively managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority with the aims of retaining and, where possible, enhancing its original grassland meadows and marshlands - increasing its value for wildlife, while providing the local community space for recreation.

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Present day

Walthamstow Marshes’ today serves a number of functions on a local, national and even international scale.

Primarily it is a place to enjoy over 400 plant and animal species that use the site across the year. Located on the edge of London, sandwiched between zones 2 & 3 on the London underground, Walthamstow Marshes provides a huge number of people with the opportunity to feel at the heart of the countryside in the middle of the city.

It has become a hugely important connective piece of the landscape which welcomes over a million visitors a year.

Bordered on its southern edge is the brand new Lee Valley Ice Centre, a world class and sensitively designed venue which features fabulous wildlife friendly landscaping, green walls and the installation of two large ponds. North of the reserve sits the hugely important Walthamstow Wetlands managed by the London Wildlife Trust, home to a diverse communities of wetland birds, many of which use the Marshes as hunting and feeding grounds.

Man practicing yoga on the marshes as the sun sets in the background

A man cycling on the marshes with the Walthamstow Marshes sign on the right hand side

Making the most of the open spaces

The main focus of the site is its status as a nature reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) but it still boasts some wonderful amenity and picnic areas with benches for people to take a seat and do some wildlife spotting

Place to eat and drink

Lee Valley Ice Centre is right by the entrance of the marshes where you can pick up something to eat and drink, and there are toilets too.

The marshes are also a ten minute walk from Chatsworth Road, one of the liveliest and most interesting high streets in Hackney, packed full of cafés, bars and restaurants

Things nearby

Lea Rowing Club

Located in Hackney, this is a diverse and successful club in the city

Middlesex Filter Beds

Come and see this 19th century water filtration, now a wildlife habitat

Wildlife watching

Lee Valley Regional Park is a haven for wildlife with different species around every corner

Lee Valley Ice Centre

Head down to the coolest place in town and take to the rink, pump some iron or just chill out

Walthamstow Wetlands

Run by London Wildlife Trust, connect with nature in north London

Lee Valley Riding Centre

The perfect place for horse lovers in London! There are sessions for every level

View of the meadow over WaterWork Centre

WaterWorks Centre and nature reserve

Enjoy the peace and tranquility of this north London nature reserve

Spring

The Sand Martin and Swift return from their migration. Kingfisher, Little Egret, Grey Heron and the final weeks of the Snipe that use the south marsh over the winter. Horsetail and Marsh Horsetail cover the site, Cuckooflower and Garlic Mustard, patches of Wild Garlic and Comfrey. Orange-tip and Peacock Butterflies emerge and if you’re incredibly lucky you might see a Water Vole in one of our ditches.

Summer

The especially rare Creeping Marshwort flowering in the scrape on the South Marsh. Meadowsweet all around the fringes with Yellow and Purple Loosestrife highlighting the ditches all over the site. A massive suite of marshland grasses, sedges and herbs in full meadow. Kestrel and the odd Red Kite using the summer thermals to hunt for shrews, mice and voles. Peregrine Falcon sit on watch from the electricity pylons and everywhere the buzz of diverse community of pollinators, including all three carder bee species. And of course if you’re very lucky you might hear the distinctive plop of a Water Vole as they dive in and out of the ditches.

Autumn

The soft lilac of Michaelmas Daisy (which very much needs to be kept in check) as well as the striking autumn colours on the foliage of the willow and poplars in the wet woodland. Alongside our conservation herd of Red Pol Cattle who stay on site until October. Marsh, Reed and Sedge Warblers and Long Tailed Tits remain active long into the autumn.

Winter

The site take on a dramatic change, stripped of colour but still refuge for a number of overwintering invertebrates and bird species. Snipe return to the site along with Grey Heron. Areas are cut back to promote next years growth and the water levels rise to highlight the ephemeral rivers and ponds that scar the marshes; a paradise for wading birds.