Walking the Lea Valley 2: FLIGHTY-LEA Luton (Airport) → East Hyde(4 miles)
The Lea's exit from Luton isn't glamorous. The river re-emerges as a decorative feature in the centre of a roundabout, then runs in a channel along the edge of the Manor Road Recreation Ground [photo]. Some over-optimistic planner had embedded a bank of concrete steps in the riverbank in the hope that local children might come paddling for sticklebacks, but none were evident when I passed by. And that was the last I saw of the river for a while, as it snaked off between some factories and around the Vauxhall Motors Recreation Club. For walkers a unlikely diversion is required, along the hard shoulder of a new dual carriageway and up the edge of a steep chalk embankment [photo]. To the edge of Luton Airport.
Luton Airport: It was charter passengers on Court Air, Britannia and Monarch who helped to transform an insignificant RAF airfield to London's fourth-busiest airport. Why queue through Heathrow when you can speed out to Luton and be in Alicante in a trice? The airport's well sited on the top of a hill, and the land falls away sharply beyond the end of the runway allowing planes to soar into the sky across the south of the town. It's across this high strip of land that the Lea Valley Walk passes, immediately alongside the perimeter fence beneath the roaring flightpath [photo]. A gathering whine means takeoff is imminent - roughly once every five minutes on a summer weekend - and the plane that emerges above the bushes is usually either Irish or orange [photo]. There's an even closer view as the footpath continues through the thistly undergrowth between the double fence and a row of trees. One minute you're passing Emergency Gate 3 (unstaffed, exit into a cornfield), the next you're watching butterflies dancing round teasels (whee, Easyjet G-EZTK). Maybe one day airportexpansion will mean the destruction of this unspoilt boundary zone [photo] and the rolling cornfield below [photo]. But for now it's hard to express the sheer unlikeliness of this interface between rural idyll and international travel-hub. Paradise? Nah, Luton Airport.
Someries Castle: A short uphill diversion at this point allows Lea Valley Walkers to visit one of the oldest brick buildings in the country. SomeriesCastle isn't especially well named - it was really a fortified manor house - and dates back to the 14th century. But a fair-sized amount of the original lodge and chapel walls remain, and it's impressive to see such large chunks of medieval brickwork still standing [photo]. Even more impressive, given that there are regular flights taking off and landing less than half a mile away. The remains now stand within the grounds of Someries Farm and are supposed to be fully accessible along a public footpath. I wasn't so lucky. I'd arrived at feeding time, and entered the field facing three cows' backsides nibbling in a nearby trough. Before I'd gone too many steps further I noticed the rest of the herd approaching for a feed, and also spotted that I'd misjudged the animals' gender. My choice was simple. Explore a fascinating medieval ruin close-up, or retreat through the kissing-gate before any of the dozen bulls came too close. When one of the ambling beasts broke off to stare at me intently, his angry eyes burning into mine as I backed slowly away, I knew that I'd made the correct decision. Back to the 21st century, and a plane-spotting descent down the golden hillside.
There's little sign of the river for the next few miles. It's hidden beyond a wall in the grounds of Luton Hoo - a neoclassical stately home recently reopened as "Hotel, Golf & Spa". Or should that be Hoo-tel. The surrounding estate is massive, some of it landscaped by no less than Capability Brown, and that includes two serpentine lakes created from the waters of the Lea. I'm sure they're delightful, but I saw neither. Even the house itself was only visible once, slightly, hidden away behind lush green foliage on the other side of the valley.
Instead the walk hugged a mile of Midland Mainline, with almost as many trains careering by as there had been planes overhead earlier. This section's part of a very-nearly-complete cyclepath between Luton and Harpenden, created by Sustrans as part of National Route 6 but also for the benefit of local leisure pedallers. The freshly laid loose tarmac was great for two-wheelers, but a bit tedious for those of us on two feet.
There were once two railways here, and the cycle path now veered off to follow the defunct Hertford, Luton andDunstable Railway along the edge of a kilometre-long sewage works. It didn't make for the loveliest walk, especially the clouds of hovering flies which were a frequent reminder that Luton's most unpleasant export was being treated immediately alongside. I spotted a disused stationplatform at New Mill End, but only because my guide book had pointed out where to look. And eventually I broke out into another cornfield on the county boundary at East Hyde, where the river at last made a welcome reappearance. This time if I'd followed the instructions in the guide book I'd have missed the pastoral view from the bridge altogether. Behind me Bedfordshire [photo], ahead Hertfordshire [photo], and still a very long way down to the Thames.
Walking the Lea Valley
Someries Castle: A short uphill diversion at this point allows Lea Valley Walkers to visit one of the oldest brick buildings in the country. Someries Castle isn't especially well named - it was really a fortified manor house - and dates back to the 14th century. But a fair-sized amount of the original lodge and chapel walls remain, and it's impressive to see such large chunks of medieval brickwork still standing [photo]. Even more impressive, given that there are regular flights taking off and landing less than half a mile away. The remains now stand within the grounds of Someries Farm and are supposed to be fully accessible along a public footpath. I wasn't so lucky. I'd arrived at feeding time, and entered the field facing three cows' backsides nibbling in a nearby trough. Before I'd gone too many steps further I noticed the rest of the herd approaching for a feed, and also spotted that I'd misjudged the animals' gender. My choice was simple. Explore a fascinating medieval ruin close-up, or retreat through the kissing-gate before any of the dozen bulls came too close. When one of the ambling beasts broke off to stare at me intently, his angry eyes burning into mine as I backed slowly away, I knew that I'd made the correct decision. Back to the 21st century, and a plane-spotting descent down the golden hillside.
Instead the walk hugged a mile of Midland Mainline, with almost as many trains careering by as there had been planes overhead earlier. This section's part of a very-nearly-complete cyclepath between Luton and Harpenden, created by Sustrans as part of National Route 6 but also for the benefit of local leisure pedallers. The freshly laid loose tarmac was great for two-wheelers, but a bit tedious for those of us on two feet.
