On your marks get set go… sneak a peek at the London Olympic Park

Sneak a preview of London's amazing Olympic Park and shop ‘til you drop at Europe’s biggest and best shopping centre: Westfield.

Start:  Hackney Wick Overground
End:   Stratford Overground and mainline

Come out of Hackney Wick station and turn left. Take the first turning on the left, White Post Lane, opposite Mr Bagel’s warehouse and follow the street as it bends to the right and then left.  You are walking through what remains of down-at-heel Hackney, pre-Olympic rebuild.

When you reach the canal, cross over the bridge and turn right onto the towpath. You are now along the River Lee Navigation, past tugs, narrow boats and old warehouses. The Hertford Union Canal peels off to the right. On your left you can soon see the first glimpses of the construction work at the Olympic Park.

On the opposite bank is the famous east end smokehouse and restaurant, Formans Smokehouse. It was one of the last buildings on the Olympic site and had to be winkled out  at great expense and relocated here on the canal.

Keep going past Old Ford Lock and turn left over the bridge, crossing the River Lee. Turn right along the towpath, towards Bow.

After a low bridge over the water, take the path up on the left. This is the Greenway Path. It covers a gigantic sewage pipe called the Northern