Space to Visit

Almost surrounded by the River Lee, Middlesex Filter Beds Nature Reserve is a ten acre haven for wildlife with 200 varieties of plants, as well as 60 different species of bird, and frogs, toads and newts. The 6 filter beds were constructed by East London Waterworks Co. in 1852/3. After going out of use in 1969 and becoming overgrown, the site was leased by Thames Water to Lee Valley Regional Park Authority in 1988 when it was opened as Middlesex Filter Beds Nature Reserve. The site contains two specially commissioned sculptures: Kate Malone’s ‘Rise and Shine Magic Fish’ and Paula Haughney’s ‘Nature’s Throne’.