Originally the whole of this area was a large marsh, Stratford Marsh, with various channels of the River Lee meandering through it. The original Stratford Causeway (now the A11) would have had a lot of small bridges over these various channels. With man's subsequent taming of these channels into the smaller number seen now as the Lee Navigation and the Bow Back Rivers, these crossings were reduced to two, here and by City Mill Lock (see the Bow Back Rivers page). The present Bow Bridge is a modern replacement for a medieval original which itself replaced an earlier ford. The first bridge here was built after a Queen of England fell off her horse while fording the river. The story is variously told about Maud and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Nowadays the Bow Flyover takes the A 11 over the top of the road junction of which Bow Bridge is part. This photo was taken as a convoy of boats was moving north after the Three Mills Rally in August 2000 on our way to that year's National Waterways Festival at Waltham Abbey.