The Bow Back Rivers (aka London's Olympic Waterways)
The river that's no more. The Pudding Mill was razed to the ground to make way for the Olympics Stadium. In its place is a 'legacy' watercourse amenity further to the west, which is not part of the Bow Backs (or London Olympic Waterways) network
The Pudding Mill River
Most of the Pudding Mill River was in water until the 1960's. It was sometimes used as a storage facility for surplus barges. Over the years The Pudding Mill River has gradually become a weed filled ditch that has been dumped with all manner of rubbish, before being infilled southwards of the North Outfall Sewer. Nowadays only the section from the Old River Lea to a point near the Northern Outfall Sewer retains any water though its not in any way navigable. The Pudding Mill River was the narrowest of all the Bow Back Rivers, but this was not of a great concern because it has not been a through route since the 1930's reconstruction. The only access possible was that from the Old River Lea. Work was actually begun to give the Pudding Mill River the full 1930's Bow Back redevelopment treatment, but this was never finished.
Despite the common notion that proposals exist to restore the Pudding Mill River as part of the Olympics scheme, the sad reality is that the Pudding Mill River will be infilled and replaced by a legacy channel a bit further to the west.
Views of the Pudding Mill River by the Old River Lea junction, including the first road overbridge. Left: Looking south down the Pudding Mill River before its demise. Right: Looking towards the Old River Lea. This site is now the south west corner of the olympic main stadium.
Perhaps these scenes look identical but actually the first is a winter view and the second a summer view. The sign disappeared a couple of years ago.These scenes are now history with the whole area razed to the ground for 2012.
Improvements were made to the Pudding Mill River at the start of the 21st century, including tree planting, the building of an attractive wooden bridge, and picnic areas. Unfortunately it has all been swept away to make room for the huge main Olympic stadium. Talk about saving money... one lot of money has already been wasted...
Scenes by the 'nuclear facility.' The nuclear facility building is no longer in existence and the site currently the main construction road into the olympics site.
The new wooden footbridge that spanned the Pudding Mill at the point where there was a good view of the Canary Wharf. The 'Nuclear Facility' was actually a reactor built buy Queen Mary College in 1966, and decomissioned by 1982. The reactor's decommissioning was supervised by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. Queen Mary College assert that the "reactor was exceptionally small ... and produced virtually no energy." However, a furore arose when the Olympics people discovered that a nuclear reactor had once existed here, as they did not know about it prior to the bidding. Tests were conducted in and around the building, and on the Pudding Mill River itself. No abnormal radiation levels were to be found, hence giving the locale a clean bill of health. The 'new' wooden footbridge is no longer there as is nothing else that is seen in this picture.
View of the Pudding Mill River and industry on Marshgate Lane. All this has disappeared under the Olympics. Marshgate lane climbed up to a summit before steeply dropping down to the Old River Lea valley. Even the hill has gone, flattened to made way for the main stadium. It must be the first hill in London's shistory ever to be removed! Note the banner on the fence saying "2012 - Killing Local Businesses."
