Location

Where Lower Edmonton is and how to get here (or how to get out).

Location

I always used to think of Lower Edmonton as being in 'north' London though it generally seems to be referred to as 'north-east' and on reflection that does seem fair enough. It is about eight miles directly north of the City of London. If you look at the outline of Greater London the bit sticking out of the top is the London Borough Of Enfield and Edmonton (in its modern meaning) is the bottom right bit of the borough. Lower Edmonton is the top two-thirds of Edmonton, Upper Edmonton the southern third (which borders Tottenham). Chingford is over to the east a bit. Got the rough idea?

The map above shows an overview of Lower Edmonton. It is served up by Google Maps so you can zoom in and out and pan around to get a better idea of the location.

Railways

If you think in terms of railways, Edmonton Green station (formerly Lower Edmonton and probably still thought of as that by many) is fairly central to Lower Edmonton. It is on the line out of Liverpool Street via Hackney Downs and Seven Sisters to Enfield Town or Cheshunt / Broxbourne / Hertford East and has enough status to also be served by the semi-fast trains. As of late 2011, train service is being run by National Express East Anglia.The journey time to Seven Sisters is around eight minutes and to Liverpool Street getting towards twenty-five minutes.

There is a another parallel route, generally known as the Lee Valley line, running along the eastern side which goes via Tottenham Hale but there isn't a station in Lower Edmonton and the nearest either side, Angel Road and Ponders End, aren't brilliantly served though they are useful to be aware of.

One of the Great Northern suburban routes out of Moorgate covers areas to the west of the Edmonton with stations at Palmers Green, Winchmore Hill and Enfield Chase. I've never found them useful but I mention them for completeness.

There are no tube lines in the area but the Victoria Line serves Seven Sisters and Tottenham Hale and Liverpool Street is on the Central, Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines.

The railways are discussed more on a separate page.

Roads

Lower Edmonton sat on the main London to Hertford/Ware/Cambridge turnpike. This is now the A1010 and is called Fore Street south of Edmonton Green and the Hertford Road north to Ponders End. The road continues south to become the High Road in Tottenham where beyond Bruce Grove it becomes the A10 and continues as Stamford Hill Road, Stoke Newington High Street, Stoke Newington Road, Kingsland High Street, Kingsland Road, Shoreditch High Street and Bishopsgate.

The A10 north of Bruce Grove diverts via Bruce Grove and The Roundway to become the A10(T) Great Cambridge Road which runs north parallel to the A1010 and runs up the west side of Lower Edmonton. It meets the M25 at junction 25.

As far east as the A10 is west, the A1055 'north south road' runs very straight and is really a bypass. It starts at Tottenham Hale in the south and is known as Watermead Way before becoming Meridian Way through Edmonton. It becomes Mollison Avenue north of the junction with the A110 Lee Valley Road where it becomes a little more meandering and an integral part of the local road system. For some reason no one really understands, it was never continued north to the M25 but instead traffic has to swing west to meet the A1010 and A10 causing congestion.

Plans to create a better link to the M25 at junction 26 to relieve this congestion and help regenerate the area were rejected by the government in August 2002 after a public inquiry despite the support of all the local councils and much to their amazement. There were environmental objections too but the government particularly claimed the effects on congestion and regeneration had not been demonstrated.

The A406 North Circular Road is slightly to the south running through the middle of Upper Edmonton. There are now elaborate underpasses at the junctions with the A10 and A1010.

A bit further to the north but worth noting is the A110 which runs easterly from Barnet through Enfield and between the reservoirs to Chingford, and then joins the A11 at Woodford. Some drivers like to use the A110 to pick up the A1005 (The Ridgeway) west of Enfield and meet the M25 at Potters Bar especially if heading west bound (or vice versa).

Bus routes in Lower Edmonton are discussed on a separate page.

Odds and Ends

The River Lee Navigation (i.e. a canal basically) runs up the east side of Lower Edmonton and the original River Lee (or Lea) itself, or rather a diversion of it, is a little further east on the other side of the William Girling Reservoir. On older maps you will see the border is drawn down the middle of the reservoir which reflects the original course of the river before the reservoir was plonked there. On later maps it can be seen that the boundary of the London Borough Of Enfield is now the River Lea Diversion on the far side of the reservoir which I suppose is a sensible adjustment. If you trace the River Lee south you end up roughly opposite the Millennium Dome.

If you navigate by football grounds, the A1010 passes on the west side of Tottenham Hotspur's ground. Go north and you pass into Upper Edmonton and then into Lower Edmonton. White Hart Lane railway station is two stops from Edmonton Green.