Hi all,

Considering moving to the East Village area in Stratford (old Olympic Village). Location of work/commute aside, I’d love to know people’s thoughts on living in that area, especially with regards to outdoor sports.

– Decent road rides starting in that area (or a short train ride away)? (I could also be interested in the Olympic velodrome)
– Decent mountain biking in that area (unlikely) , or a short train ride away?
– Decent BMX/4X track type stuff, obviously there’s the Olympic track, is there much else in the area?
– Other outdoor stuff – walking/climbing, stuff like sailing, paragliding, all of potential interest!
– Something I’m particularly interested in is whether or not it would make sense to have a car – would it open up much in the way of riding spots, decent walks/hikes/climbs within an hour or two drive, plus am I likely to find somewhere to park/will insurance be brutal in that area? Other option is to hire car etc

Any thoughts much appreciated!

Cheers,
Duane

Hi

Things probably not as bad as you think they may be although I’m sure someone will be along to say otherwise.

I’m in Chingford so not too far away.

Road riding – you’re about 20mins from the lanes of Essex with some nice, quiet roads. No major hills but enough that you could get some elevation in with some planning.

MTB – 10mins ride from the northern tip of Epping Forest. More than enough to keep me entertained for 20 years.

BMX – as you say, the Olympic track is obvious. There is also a track in Hackney which is only a short ride or train journey away.
Not sure what the score is with Rom in Romford. If still going it is again only a short train ride away. Stratford is blessed with very good transport links.

Other outdoors – walking: Epping Forest not far and River Lea / Lea Valley Park on your doorstep.
Climbing – indoor climbing at Mile End, couple of stops in the Central Line.
Kayaking and Rowing – all on the River Lea not too far from you.
Sailing – King Charles Reservoir, probably a 20 – 30 minute cycle along the River Lea. Similar for the Olympic White Water centre.

Hour or 2 drive would get you out of town and into the Surrey Hills.

I don’t think the Olympic Villages are too great for parking though.

Hope that helps.

There was an interesting article on the Guardian website (I think) recently with people who live in the Olympic Park giving their thoughts. Mostly positive but some interesting comments that I found surprising. May be worth a look.

Ok, being a Surrey dweller but working in Canary wharf i had a pretty dim view of that part of the world but I went to the velopark after work t’other night (note I slipped that in to make all t’Northern folk feel included in this discussion) and we rode from CW along Regent’s canal and then through the various parks etc to get to the velopark.

I was frankly amazed at all the really nice green spaces that abound in that area. It’s had beellions of dollars splashed on it since the games were announced as being there and it shows.

EDIT: and returning home along the canal afterwards as you head west there are loads and loads of really cool eating and drinking places along the canal. It looks a very cool part of town

If you can afford it (I have no idea of prices) then go for it.

TheRack summed it up very nicely, nothing to add other than most of the stuff he mentioned is possibly even closer than he said. Also southern tip of Epping Forest, not northern lol 😉

It’s a great area, I live just the other side of the park in Clapton, there is so much to do it’s amazing- both night life and day time outdoorsy stuff.

Also- re sailing, there’s a sailing club on Woodford Reservoir, about 40 mins cycle up the canal.

A car is not a bad idea, you can get on to the M11 super quick up the A12, and you might find it useful for meeting up with the 2 or 3 mtb clubs that meet in Epping Forest at the weekend

Doh – Southern lol
I blame it on working nights last night.

As MTB-Idle says, pretty amazing green spaces around the villages.

You can ride to Epping up the Lee towpath, it’s about 10 miles.
BMX track in Haggerston park, just off the Regents canal towpath at Broadway Market, cross the bridge and head south.
There’s calisthenic bars and some nice concrete bowls in the Stratford corner of Victoria Park.
Mile End climbing wall on the towpath just south of Victoria Park.

There is the Lee Valley velodrome thingy at Stratford as well, BMX track already mentioned, as well as mtb routes and a road circuit as well as the velodrome. BMX track at Victoria Park and Mile End. 45 min on train gets you to Hadleigh Park. You can also access (off road) the Thames path north and south which is good for a CX bike.

I used to live not too far from there. Tbh while I could go and do some of my usual outdoorsy stuff I actually ended up putting those activities on hold. There was so much other stuff to do that was more accessible. Got back into it when I moved out of London.

– Decent road rides starting in that area (or a short train ride away)? (I could also be interested in the Olympic velodrome)
– Decent mountain biking in that area (unlikely) , or a short train ride away?
– Decent BMX/4X track type stuff, obviously there’s the Olympic track, is there much else in the area?
– Other outdoor stuff – walking/climbing, stuff like sailing, p

Does it have to be Eastl? South/south east/south west gives you her Herne Hill velodrome, Peckham and Brockwell BMX tracks(there is one somewhere in Merton too?) plus the whole length of the South Downs for good road riding with some proper hills and better mountain biking in the winter with Swinley/Surrey hills.

The idea of living next to a huge shopping centre full of chavs gives me the fear, I appreciate this might be aspirational to a certain demographic 🙄

I spend a lot of time there. The best thing about the area is the amount of green space, parks, canals, cycleways, etc. and they all seem to be linked together. Access to almost anywhere by bike is amazing, You can get to Westminster via canal and dedicated cycle path almost without touching a proper road. The river will take you to Canary Wharf or Hertfordshire, the Canal gets you to Islington and there’s a cycleway that takes you as far as London City Airport. N.S.E and W covered, pretty much road free.

As mentioned, you can get to Epping Forrest via the Lee towpath or going north from Wanstead Flats, [theres a 5 mile ribbon of forrest going north towards Epping] and has some nice singletrack.

You can get to the foot of the Kent Downs [Strood / Rochester] in 15 mins from Stratford train station on one of the super fast, frequent, [though expensive] trains. Or 10 mins on the same train to Ebbsfleet where theres a BMX / MTB track and lots of nearby [5 miles] forrest trails.