New River Path

Hertfordshire, Gtr London

A walk along the New River which is a man made channel dug in the early 17th century to bring clean water into London. The path follows the New River channel as closely as possible, from open countryside with riverside paths, to the inner city streets, where, from the 'Castle' at Stoke Newington, it finishes with a 3-mile Heritage Section, where the route follows the historic but now truncated course through open spaces and on-street. This ends at the New River Head, an historic complex of installations and buildings mostly visible from Nautilus House garden, off Myddelton Passage, with a visitor information point (for its opening times see the Thames Water booklet).

As well as the open channels, the New River runs in some straightened and piped sections. The riverside paths include permissive sections restricted to use by walkers, who must observe safety notices and any diversion when closures are required for operational reasons.

In 1985 the New River was threatened with closure and the New River Action Group led those urging Thames Water to preserve the route as a long distance path, with the company making a substantial investment in the walking route including providing the route booklet. The New River is an important resource for leisure and wildlife.

October 1995: Report of an obstruction of this Long Distance Path by Network Rail, where it crosses the railway line east of Hertford (grid reference TL 34838 13895). It is possible to bypass this stretch of the New River by taking to the River Lee between King's Meads (grid reference TL 33992 13806) and the road bridge in Ware.

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Details:

Path Type:	Other Paths
Waymark:	Named posts/NR logo
Attributes:	Easy River Heritage
Start:	TL340138 - South bank of River Lea near Hertford, Hertfordshire
Finish:	TQ314827 - New River Head, Rosebery Avenue, Islington, Gtr London
User Group:	New River Action Group New River Action Group
Web Sites:	New River Path - Tim Bertuchi Annierak - New River Path [blog] Stephen and Lucy Dawson - New River Path [blog] New River Path [YouTube video] Walking London's 400-Year Old Aqueduct | The New River Path (4K) (YouTube Video) Walking London's New River Path | Day 2 of a Massive Hike (4K) (YouTube Video)

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Publications, Badges and Certificates:

Guidebook

Exploring the New River : Hertford to Stoke Newington  (Brewin Books Ltd  - 1997 )

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