Millfields Park #1: Multi Multi-Cache

Millfields Park #1: Multi

This short multi with a small camo-pot cache will introduce or re-introduce you to this well appreciated urban oasis adjacent to the River Lee with its extensive walking and cycling trails.

The given coordinates are for the eastern entrance to the northern section of the Park.

Step 1: near the entrance @ N 51 33.721 W 0 2.781 you will see a flag pole with an attached notice stating the flags should not be flown if the wind speed reaches 3A miles per hour.

Note: (Septermer 2018) the notice has disappeared, so use A=9

Step 2: nearby @ N 51 33.729 W 0 2.783 there is a signpost for the Lee Valley Walk 4. In order to obtain more information on this walk a telephone number is given for which Option 2 should be used along with pin number 37B.

On the same pole there are some directions and distances. The distance in one direction to Enfield Lock is C miles and the distance in the other direction to Beckton District Park is D miles.

Step 3: now walk across the grassy expanse to N 51 33.726 W 0 2.916 where you will find a protective enclosure for a young tree which is supported by E vertical wooden poles.

Step 4: continue across the grass to N 51 33.733 W 0 3.058 where you will find yourself in front of a goal with an inscription offering good advice about goals written across the bar. The alphanumeric value (A=1, B=2, C=3 etc) of the next to last letter of this advice = F

Step 5: now move over to and around the kiddies play area to N 51 33.713 W 0 3.108 where you will see a blue play train, the front (engine) part of which has G wheels.

Step 6: continue to N 51 33.683 W 0 3.096 where you will find lamp-post number H

Step 7: a little further on @ N 51 33.669 W 0 3.091 you will be standing near a Plane tree with a small numbered disc attached to it some 3m above ground with the last three numbers = 79J

Final Step: the cache can be found at:

N 51 33.(A-B)(C-J-1)(E+4) W 0 03.(D-7)(G-F)(H-3)

Millfields Park is a large recreation ground (22.4ha) in Hackney. The open character of the park is framed by stunning avenues of mature Plane trees which line the paths across the park. The Lee Navigation borders the park and links it to Springfield Park to the north and Hackney Marshes to the south.

It has 3 distinct sections (see map in Gallery): North Millfields Recreation Ground to the north of Lea Bridge Road (where this multi is located) and South Millfields Recreation Ground which is sub-divided into the east and west.

It is several varied and interesting features and areas such as woodland and meadows, expansive grass recreation spaces, sports and play areas, and community orchards.

Except for the River Lee to the east It is surrounded by housing and is an important and extensively used large green space in this densely populated and residential area of London.

As designated common land, it is always open and freely accessible.

Some History

Now known as Millfields Park, the former Millfields Recreation Grounds were previously Lammas land, which entitled commoners to pasture following the harvest, between Lammas day 12 August to 6 April.

The land became known as the Mill Field after a famous corn mill on the River Lea which was built in 1381 and ground corn and flour for the country and London until the end of the 18th century. A second mill was built in 1443 at which time the names North Mill Field and South Mill Field came into use. Lea Bridge Road, formerly Mill Lane, was known as Mill Field Lane from the 1580s until the Lea Valley Bridge was built in 1745, when the road was given its present name.

The Mill Fields were divided into strips and held by tenants of the Manor of Hackney until at least the mid-18th century, and later were saved from development as a result of a successful petition to enclose and conserve 180 acres of common land in Hackney for public use.

Millfields finally opened to the public as a park in 1884, the London County Council (LCC) having acquired 23.25 acres of Mill Field North and 34.25 acres of Mill Field South. The area was developed in the 18th and 19th centuries with the advent of the railways, Clapton Station opening in 1872, and Chatsworth Road cutting the Mill Fields into 3 sections in the late 1860s.