A nature reserve where AV Roe first flew
Walthamstow Marsh Nature Reserve
Walthamstow embraces one of the few surviving marshlands in the London area. The marhses contain a variety of plant communities typical of an area that was once a flood plain. The marshes are also of technical interest as the place where A V Roe first flew.
A site of special scientific interest
Traditionally, Walthamstow Marshes were managed as 'Lammas Land'. This meant that they were shut up for hay from early April to mid August and then opened up for grazing by commoners' horses and cattle. Today hay is still cut from parts of the marsh in late summer to help maintain the diversity of plants and animals. Around 400 plant species have been recorded on the marsh.
The surface of the marsh still shows the pattern of the ice-age river channels which create a range of habitats including drier meadow and wetter reed and sedge beds
The first powered flight in Britain
Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe used the marsh for some of his later attempts to build and fly his early aeroplanes. He suffered many failures.
In the end he was successful and there is now a blue plaque commemorating his first successful flight in July 1909 on one of the railway arches.
Submitted by: Andrew Hunt, 14 January 2008
