Hop-on hop-off waterbus service for Olympic Park visitors

OLYMPIC Park visitors are promised a waterbus service by next spring.

The hop-on hop-off service along the River Lee will operate between Limehouse Basin, Three Mills, just outside the Park at Stratford, and Old Ford Lock.

British Waterways, in partnership with London Thames Gateway Development Corporation and the Olympic Delivery Authority, announced Water Chariots will operate both a public waterbus route and a private charter service.

Mark Blackwell, British Waterways’ Principal Projects Manager, said: “This is brilliant news for the waterways and for the local area. The new service will give local people and visitors - of which there will be thousands in 2012 - a chance to see east London from a completely new perspective.”

He said the Lower Lea Valley’s historic network of waterways is one of its best kept secrets and an important tourism asset for the area.

The waterways of east London have been the focus for record investment in the lead up to the Games with channels dredged, a new lock and water control structure built at Three Mills and the restoration of City Mill Lock.

Further improvements in the pipeline include a new floating towpath and bridge being built to help pedestrians and cyclists avoid the dangerous A11 crossing and a new riverside path called the ‘Fatwalk’ connecting the Lower Lea Valley to the Thames. I