Built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, the huge 225-hectare Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park sits in Stratford and Hackney Wick, plus Leyton and Bow. You’ll find shaded woodland, open meadows and muddy wetlands, plus wide cycle lanes and serene towpaths, great cafes, cultural museums, plus kids' playgrounds and state-of-the-art sporting facilities open to all.
Legacy of the Games
The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk) cost more than £1 billion to build and was constructed on greenfield, brownfield and marshes. But this area has a long history: during construction, archaeologists found evidence of a prehistoric settlement beneath what is now the London Aquatics Centre. There also used to be a Roman bridge, a network of waterways, and in the 1930s, the site had a sweet factory and a greyhound track.
When industry left, the area was considered a wasteland – but Olympic regeneration has created an extension of the city, and the postcode is now rich with attractions, entertainment options and transport links. Mega venues host world-renowned sporting events, from the London Grand Prix athletics to the third Tour de France, plus numerous community events, from fun runs to festivals, which take place most weekends in the summer months.
Nature & Walking Trails
There are 21 miles of multi-use paths and trails around the park, some snaking through pretty gardens. The London Blossom Garden has 33 hawthorn, cherry, cherry plum and crab apple blossom trees to commemorate the city’s experience of the pandemic and those who lost their lives. The 2012 Gardens have 70,000 plants from 250 different species and are rich with bees and butterflies.
The park’s wetlands, at its northern end, are a less cultivated experience, with ponds, sloping banks and wildflower meadows. Check the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park website for maps of themed rambles, from an art trail and wildlife trail to an Olympic Legacy trail and Heritage trail with QR codes at points of interest, offering interactive features, audio, video and info on the site.
Lee Valley Velopark
The unmistakable, curved dish-shaped Velopark building was designed to take on the form of a steeply banked oval cycling track, and this landmark place is the first on Earth to do four types of cycling. There’s track cycling, road racing (a 1-mile course), a BMX track (with more than 30 bumps, jumps and berms) and mountain-biking trails (with 8km of off-road dirt to explore). Visitors can sign up for taster sessions and courses for each discipline (better.org.uk/leisure-centre/lee-valley/velopark; sessions from £7) or visit the cafe on the 2nd floor to watch biking in action.
ArcelorMittal Orbit
Turner Prize–winning Anish Kapoor's 115m-high, red twisted-steel sculpture (arcelormittalorbit.com) looms over Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Though it's really a piece of art made of enough steel for two London buses, it's also home to two impressive panoramic viewing platforms, a concave mirror experience, an immersive soundscape walk and a thrilling ride on the world's highest and longest tunnel slide, which winds you down to the ground from 178m in an exhilarating 40 seconds! The Orbit is also increasingly hosting live events throughout the year. Or strap on a harness and try the UK’s highest free-fall abseil.
London Stadium
Now home to Premier League football side West Ham United, the spectacular bowl-shaped London Stadium began life as the centerpiece of the London 2012 games. As well as hosting recent European Champions’ football matches, the stadium is also home to other major sporting events and music concerts. Visitors can go behind the scenes on stadium tours to follow in the footsteps of Premier League players by visiting the changing rooms and warm-up areas and stepping on to the hallowed turf inside the famous ground (whufc.com; adult/child/under-5 £20/12/free).
London Aquatics Centre
In a building shaped like a wave, this swimming pool is where legends were made at the 2012 Games. Now the public can swim in the exact same arena, in two 50m pools and one 25m pool, plus a dive pool with 1m platforms and springboards, plus dive off 3m, 5m, 7.5m and 10m platforms – where Tom Daley claimed bronze for Team GB. There’s also a unique dry diving pit hidden in the depths of the building, so people can jump into a foam pit and safely practice their technique. Children, meanwhile, love the aqua play sessions, when a pool is turned into a playground full of inflatables.
Monkeying Around
Children love exploring the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, thanks to its engaging play areas, including the woodland-hidden Tumbling Bay playground, with treehouses, wobbly bridges, slides, swings, rock pools, sand and water diggers and pulleys, plus a superb cafe next door. The Brew Street Cafe & Bar at Timber Lodge serves breakfasts, lunches, coffees and burgers. Plus has craft beer on tap, and outdoor tables from which to watch park life in full swing. The Pleasure Gardens Play Area, meanwhile, has a climbing wall, huge triple-width slide, giant sand pits, swings and outdoor gym equipment nearby that parents can enjoy. On hot summer days, the Splash Fountain is a superb place for small kids to cool off.
Continued Development
The park is set to become East London’s biggest arts-and-culture hub – the V&A, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sadler’s Wells are all set to open centers here, to host performances, exhibitions and regular community events. The V&A center will differ slightly from its terrific 12.5-acre space in west London. V&A East will have 20,000 items, but it will be more than a big collection. It will be a creative campus and social space for the local community.
Sadler's Wells, which has hosted dance for more than three centuries, will serve the local community with six dance studios, a cafe and bar, and a huge 550-seat auditorium for big dance shows. The BBC's Music Studios will also be moving here and will be home to Radio 1 Live Lounge and BBC Proms. UAL’s London College of Fashion and University College London also now have campuses in the area and host fashion shows, events and lectures open to the public.
Mixed Sports
Other venues hosting a variety of sports include the London Marathon Community track with an all-weather, six-lane Mondo 400m track and two eight-lane 100m race tracks, plus a full-sized football pitch. The Copper Box Arena is home to badminton courts and table tennis facilities, and it is where the GB Basketball Team and London Lions play games. The Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre sits in the northeast of the park and has hockey pitches and tennis courts, available for drop-in sessions bookable on the Better website (better.org.uk).