As I go past the Olympic Park on the train on an almost daily basis, I have become somewhat immune to its undeniable magnificence. What used to be a baron wasteland in the form of an empty marsh now looks a 21st Century sporting masterpiece in the making with the giant Olympic Stadium and revolutionary Aquatics Centre towering proudly over the East End of London.

Everyday, the building site that is the Olympic Park looks visibly closer to completion but to be honest, I have become rather too accustomed to the stunning back drop being part of my daily commute. While some on my carriage, who I assume do not regularly take the train that offers the scenic view of the Olympic Park, audibly gasp when they see the Olympic venues in Stratford or press their noses up against the window to get a closer look, I, like many other regular commuters from East Anglia to Central London, barely look up from my daily newspaper.

Therefore, I didn’t think I would get too much out of a walking tour of the Olympic Park Area I had been booked on despite the tour sounding rather interesting. The tour involved a walk through the River Lee Valley, the area of the London 2012 Games, and is led by London Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guides who in addition to the London qualification; have undergone a training course for the 2012 Games itself.

Opened by Kate Hoey, the London Mayor’s Sports Commissioner, the walking tours take place at 11am every day - including Christmas Day - until the start of London 2012. The tours last roughly one-and-three-quarter hours and begin at Bromley-by-Bow tube station. Bromley-by-Bow was therefore my first port of call and I arrived at the tube station early to meet my Blue Badge Tour Guide Marc Belben.

Marc, who turned out to be a delightful and interesting individual - which thinking about it is probably a prerequisite if your occupation is a tour guide - immediately surprised me by taking me on a route around the Olympic Park that I had never knew existed. We started on a bridge resting over the River Lea Valley which offered a fantastic view of the Canary Warf and more specifically the large Barclays tower located there which is the home of both the London 2012 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).

Marc informed me that the River Lea Valley, which runs right through the Olympic Park, has been completely decontaminated because of the 2012 Games and that many of the old trolleys and rubber tyres that resided in there had been removed so that the water could be used as a way for boats to transport materials to build the venues with.

We carried on our walk, which passed Britain’s oldest surviving tidal mill, until we came to the famous 3 Mills Studios. This is the location used by famous musicians, such as Lady Gaga and Craig David, and where major blockbuster films have been shot including last year’s children’s hit film Fantastic Mr Fox.

Perhaps more relevantly to London 2012, 3 Mills Studios was the venue used to rehearse the London Bus sequence at the Beijing 2008 Closing Ceremony that featured Jimmy Page on the guitar, Leona Lewis singing and David Beckham completely miss-kicking a ball into the crowd.

It will also be the location that Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle uses to rehearse the London 2012 Opening Ceremony he is in charge of as well as the venue where the Closing Ceremony and Paralympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be perfected.

We carried on our pleasant walk further, with Marc enthralling me with his encyclopedic knowledge London and the previous Olympic Games the city hosted in 1908 and 1948, until we rather quickly came to the impressive climax of the tour - The View Tube which overlooks the Olympic Stadium.

The View Tube is situated on The Greenway and is almost in the middle of the Olympic Park itself. A remarkable piece of engineering that was built using recycled shipping containers; The View Tube is home to a delightful café which is open seven days a week and even though I admitted earlier that I am not all that impressed by the Olympic Park anymore, the ridiculously close proximity of The View Tube to the Olympic Stadium did make me rethink me statement because no matter how well you think you know it, a close-up view of an 80,000 seat-stadium rarely fails to impress even the most cynical.

It was the perfect way to end the tour and Marc and I sat down for a coffee when a suddenly, a tall man walked by that I instantly recognised. It was no less than Australian David Higgins, the chief executive of the ODA and therefore the man primary charged with ensuring that the Olympic Park is delivered on time and on budget.

Higgins, from what I could gather, was actually giving a VIP tour himself to Tim Phillips, the chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The two looked deep in conversation but being a journalist - and with the help of Marc -  I interrupted their conversation have a general chat. Fortunately, the pair are exceeding pleasant - or unbelievably polite when interrupted - and were more than happy to speak to us.

Phillips explained that they were also stopping for a coffee at The View Tube as it was "the VIP box of the Olympic Park".

As a nice memento of the walk, I asked Higgins if I could have a photograph with him in front of the Stadium he is building and with a slightly surprised look, the likeable Australian and highest paid Government quango boss in the UK (with an annual salary of £394,999) said it would be no problem at all.

Higgins and Phillips soon left, the former telling me he is looking forward to reading this very blog, and my surprising enjoyable tour with Marc was over.

I assure you that I have no obligation to say this but I would strongly recommend the daily walking tour to anybody. The tour can take place in over 40 languages and at just £8 for adults and £5 for children it is an absolute bargain.

And in today’s society, a one full of television, fast-food takeaways and video computer games, it makes a very pleasant change having a scenic walk in the most interesting of areas. It will also probably be the best opportunity you will have to see the Park before London 2012 itself and if you’re not already sold on the Games, you either will be after this tour or you simply never will be.

The only thing I can’t guarantee is that you’ll bump into the chief executive of the ODA but as the VIP box of the Olympic Park. But you never know, if one Lord Sebastian Coe or fellow celebrity, might be lurking around for an opportunistic picture opportunity.

For further information or to book a walking tour click here. 

Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames