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NEW RIVER WALK – ENFIELD TO HERTFORD

Sunday 20th October 2013

 

WALK LEADER – JOHN POLLEY (New River Action Group)

 

Thank you for your interest in walking from Enfield Town to the source of the New River on the River Lea near Hertford. This is an all day walk of around 17miles (27kms). If you prefer to join/leave us at any point of the route then you are welcome to do so.

 

        Crown & Horseshoes                              New Gauge

Our walk starts at 10am outside the ‘Crown & Horseshoes’ pub in Enfield Town & ends at ‘New Gauge’ the source of the New River where up to 22.5 million gallons of water are extracted each day. This is located on the River Lea between Ware & Hertford. We aim to finish the walk at approximately 6pm. You are very welcome to join us afterwards at the ‘Old Barge’ pub on Folly Island adjacent to the River Lea in Hertford.

Our starting point, the ‘Crown & Horseshoes’ is situated adjacent to one of the original heritage NR Company steel bridges on the redundant ‘Enfield Loop’ at Enfield Town. Both the bridge & the loop are surviving examples of 
two of the many original features of the NR.

We will take a brief morning break near Theobalds Park, a one hour lunch stop at Old Mill Meadows on the River Lea at Broxbourne between approx 1.30 – 2.30pm where toilets & refreshments are available. In the afternoon, we hope to enjoy tea/coffee & home made cakes break in the quaint St. John the Baptist church in Great Amwell.

When built the NR was around 40 miles (64km) in length, 6 feet wide & about 3 feet deep. The bed of the river was originally formed of puddled clay, which was far from watertight. Leaks were commonplace especially on the generally lower east bank (left bank as you go downstream). Flooding of adjoining land led to numerous complaints from local landowners and work to repair & maintain the banks was ongoing.

The many loops, such as this one in Enfield, allowed the NR to cross the many intersecting watercourses and to maintain it’s natural downward flow along the 100 foot contour. It descended a mere 20 feet (5.8 metres) in the course of it’s journey towards London, an average of only 6inches per mile - quite an achievement in the early 17th Century!

When the NR was constructed no means of pumping water existed. In later years the invention and increased use of ‘modern’ technology, starting with wind & horsepower, followed by the steam engine and latterly electricity, enabled the course to be shortened. The NR has been straightened and shortened over the years with the many loops being abandoned in favour of new tunnelled, piped or viaduct sections. Aside of the many changes, much of the NR you will see today going north from Enfield follows the very route constructed nearly 400 years ago between 1608 & 1613. You will be able to see many of the original NR features, how & why the course was planned & where some of the original loops used to be. Why King James’s intervention was crucial to the completion of the project & how construction of the river led to complaints and caused upset to landowners, mill owners, barge owners and others affected by it’s construction. Nowadays construction of new roads, airports & of course HS2 causes much the same public response!

 

Some NR facts:

 

 

It is only in recent years that much of the NR has been made accessible to the public. Much campaigning by groups such as NRAG led to the eventual creation of the New River Path which we will follow today. In years gone by, you were not allowed to go near the river & certainly not to walk along the banks!

 

I do hope you can join us.

 

Please confirm that you are coming & where you intend to join us in order that I may have an indication of numbers & keep an eye open for you!

 

Sincerely

 

John Polley

07814 546772

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

TIME

km

total km

LOCATION

10.00 am

0.00

 

Start - Crown & Horsehoes pub, Enfield EN2 6PZ

 

 

 

Enfield Town - Enfield Loop

 

 

 

Enfield - North Enfield

10.30

2.00

2.00

Cross Hoe Lane

 

 

 

Cross Maidens Brook

 

 

 

Turkey Street to Bullsmoor Lane

 

 

 

Cross Bullsmoor Lane

11.00

2.00

4.00

Cross M25 on NR concrete aqueduct

 

 

 

Adjacent to Theobalds Estate

Arr11.25 Dep11.35

 

 

Break – Theobalds, Lady Meux’s Island - NR heritage seat.

11.40

 

 

Cross Theobalds Lane, pass under Luietenant Ellis Way.

12.00

2.00

6.00

Cross College Rd, Cheshunt

12.05 pm

0.75

6.75

Cross Church lane

12.15

0.25

7.00

Passing rear of BP garage on A10 at Cheshunt

 

0.50

7.50

Cross Brookfield Lane

12.30

0.50

8.00

Passing rear of Brookfield Shopping Centre, Cheshunt

12.40

0.50

8.50

Pass under A10

1.00

1.00

9.50

Cross Church Lane, Wormley

1.15

 

 

High Road, Wormley

1.25

1.50

11.00

Arrive Broxbourne, St Augustine's Church

2.15

 

 

Depart Broxbourne, St Augustine's Church

2.25

 

 

Cross Station Rd

 

 

 

Cross Gas Works Lane

 

 

 

Cross Upper Marsh/Admirals Walk

2.50

2.00

13.00

Cross Essex Road

3.05

1.00

14.00

Cross Rye Road

 

 

 

Cross Hoddesdon Road

3.30

1.50

15.50

Pass under A414 flyover

3.45

0.50

16.00

Cross Station Road

3.50

1.00

17.00

Amwell Marsh Pumping station

4.10

0.50

17.50

Break - Great Amwell, St John The Baptist church

4.50

2.00

19.50

Ware

 

 

 

Broadmead PS

5.05

1.00

20.50

Chadwell Spring

5.20

 

 

Marble Gauge

5.30

 

 

White House Sluice

5.50

1.00

21.50

New Gauge, River Lea intake

6.00 pm

1.50

23.00

Finish - Old Barge pub on River Lea

 

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