House Mill on the Limehouse Cut Canal — House Mill

Start: Canary Wharf Station, Canada Square, London, E14 5AB
Finish: Bethnal Green Underground Station, Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, London, E2 0ET
Distance: 10.6 km (6.6 miles)
Elevation change: + 58m / -53m. Net -5m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Thames Path, Greenwich Meridian Trail, Lee Valley Walk, Jubilee Greenway, Capital Ring, London to Walsingham Camino, Regents Canal Towpath
Other routes touched (cycle): Prime Meridian Cycle Route, NCN 1, 13, C2
Pubs / Cafes on route: Several at the Start and End at Canary Wharf and Bethnal Green. Also the Cafe at House Mill (5.1 km in) and several at the junction of the Lee Navigation and Hertford Canal (7.3 km in)
Map: London North Map | The City, West End, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow & Watford | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 173
Links: Canary Wharf, Limehouse Basin, Limehouse Cut, Bow Locks, Lee Navigation, House Mill, Hertford Union Canal, Regent’s Canal, Bethnal Green

This is a short, flat, and deeply interesting canal-side walk in the east of London. For us, it was the perfect epilogue to the Regent's Canal walk that we completed the previous year, taking in two short canals that both intersect with the eastern end of the Regent's. We started the walk from Canary Wharf Elizabeth Line Station, but if you want to shorten it by 2 km, you could also easily start from the Limehouse DLR Station.

From Canary Wharf, walk in a westerly direction across Cabot Square and Westferry Circus to the north bank of the River Thames. Take a right and follow the Thames Path to Limehouse Basin. Take a right into the basin, keeping to the eastern edge of the marina until you get to the Limehouse Cut.

The Limehouse Cut is actually London's oldest canal, opened way back in 1770 to relieve congestion on the River Thames and provide a more direct, non-tidal route for sailing barges bringing grain and malt down from Hertfordshire. The Cut is just over 2km long and is initially straight, then turns in a curve to Bow Locks, where the Lee Navigation meets Bow Creek. On this walk, you will follow the path between the Lee Navigation and Bow Creek to reach House Mill at the entrance to Three Mills Island. The House Mill is the largest surviving tidal mill in Britain, built in 1776, it once supplied huge quantities of flour to the local gin distilleries! It has a small exhibition and a cafe if you are ready for a rest at this halfway point in the walk.

After House Mill, cross over to the western side of the Lee Navigation and continue north along the towpath. You will pass through some fascinating post-industrial land in various stages of redevelopment before reaching the edge of the Olympic Park. Here you will find several brilliant canal-side options for food, all of which were a bit too busy when we arrived on a Saturday afternoon.

Cross over to the western side of the canal at White Post Lane, take a left, and then a right onto the Hertford Union Canal. Originally known as Duckett's Canal after the man who funded it in 1830, it is just over a mile long. It was essentially built as a commercial shortcut, connecting the Lee Navigation straight to the Regent's Canal so that barges could bypass the crowded, toll-heavy Thames altogether. It passes beautifully between Victoria Park on the northern side and residential housing to the south.

When you reach the Regent's Canal, take a left and walk south for 200m, then cross over the Roman Road Bridge. Follow Roman Road for 1km to the end of the walk at Bethnal Green Underground Station.

Walking The Limehouse Cut and Hertford Union Canal

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