I’ve been meaning to visit the Lee Valley Sculpture Trail for a while and the perfect opportunity finally arrived! This week I wanted to make the best of the beautiful blue skies and sunshine and we’d just received a Micro Trike from Micro Scooters, all ready for a test drive. It turns out that the River Lee Country Park is the perfect place to trike and scoot and the Lee Valley Sculpture Trail has some interesting sculptures that add highlights to a walk in the countryside.
Have a look at our adventures at Lee Valley Sculpture Trail
Lee Valley Sculpture Trail – How To Get There
The Lee Valley Sculpture Trail takes you on a circular route around the River Lee Country Park. There are several car parks to choose from along the route, some are free but others are £2.50 for the day. We decided to start at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, which has free parking but it does get very busy, so get there early if you want a space!
The Lee Valley Country Park is criss-crossed with footpaths and waterways. Take extra care as you’re never far from water on the trail. The best map I found was The Artway Route 1 and I took a screenshot of it on my phone, before I left home, so I didn’t need to rely on mobile signal. The paths are waymarked but it wasn’t always clear where we had to go and we did need to check the map a few times along the way. There’s also a map of the Sculpture Trail but we found that it wasn’t detailed enough in some places.
Exploring The Lee Valley Sculpture Trail
Scooters and trikes at the ready, we started the trail and found our first sculpture ‘Musicality’ – a huge wooden xylophone that you can climb on to create sounds. Then we were off again! The paths are smooth hardstanding for much of the way, so we could easily glide along with a Micro Scooter and Micro Trike. There are bridges to cross and lakes and rivers full of wildlife. I really enjoy long walks but it’s not easy for little legs. I’m so pleased to have found a walk where we can take the Micro Scooter and Micro Trike along, so every member of the family can enjoy some fresh air… without having to listen to constant moaning!
More scooting and we came to Turnershill Marsh, near the Pindar car park, where there are several sculptures representing Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. Some are carved out of tree trunks and you can climb on them and explore.
Next, we went in search of Stag Beetles! More climbing and exploring and we realised that almost an hour had passed since we began the trail. There was the opportunity to cut across the circular route and shorten the walk, so we took it. This turned out to be an excellent decision, as at the other side of the Viking Sign Post we found an ice cream van in the Hooks Marsh Car Park. Mr 3 was now an expert at riding on the Micro Trike and actually managed to eat his 99 with a flake, whilst gliding along the path!
The path took us along the bank of the River Lee, with weeping willows and welcome shade. Just as our legs were getting tired we found ourselves back at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, which is home to the Olympic white water slalom course as well as the modern Terrace Bar and Café and Finish Line Café.
We enjoyed ice cold drinks on the terrace where you can get really close to the canoes and rafts as they prepare to take on the rapids! It’s a stunning setting and next time we’ll stay and have lunch, which they were serving from 12noon.
The Lee Valley Sculpture Trail gets a gold star from me. The easy, smooth pathways meant we were able to walk, scoot and trike for two hours and then enjoy the relaxed surroundings in the contemporary Terrace Café. A fantastic day out for all the family that’s easy on the pocket.
Our Micro Trike Adventures
The Micro Trike is perfect for us during this tricky stage between buggy and independence! Mr 3 won’t go near the buggy but he still gets tired and I always used to end up carrying him… then, the Micro Trike arrived! Mr 3 loves sitting on the trike and I love it because it’s light (weighing under 5lbs), compact, quick to fold and easy to pop in the car or carry with me.
Smooth surfaces are best for the Micro Trike and it’s great on pavements, in shopping centres and supermarkets… you get the idea. Be aware that you need to take extra care with drop curbs and if there isn’t a drop in the curb then we actually found it was safer for Mr 3 to get off the Micro Trike and then get back on again.
The steering is really easy and I can steer with one hand. It would be even better if the Micro Trike had a brake… don’t let go when you’ve got a little one on board!
If we’d tried the Lee Valley Sculpture Trail without the Micro Trike I know that I would have ended up carrying Mr 3 and his Micro Scooter. The Micro Trike is saving my back and making family walks a reality.
Top Tips for a visit to the Lee Valley Sculpture Trail
- Lee Valley White Water Centre is on Station Road, Waltham Cross, EN9 1AB.
- There are several car parks to choose from along the route, some are free but others are £2.50 for the day.
- Micro Trikes are currently available in white, black, pink and blue from Micro Scooters.
- Print out a Trail Map, or take a screen shot on your phone before you go.
- Visit the Lee Valley White Water Centre on Sunday 1st July 2018 for a day packed with action and activities at the Summer Splash.
All information is correct on the date of publication: June 2018
We were sent a Micro Trike to put it through its paces, however all the words and pictures are my own.
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