Walking London

#365DaysofLondonBaby- Day 25- a weekend stroll through Shoreditch / Hackney

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The sun has finally decided to make an appearance this weekend and I used the opportunity to spend a lazy Saturday in Shoreditch / Hackney with some friends. Even though my picture-taking activity was on the low side, it was so much fun that I thought I share our route with you nevertheless. So here it comes…

Your lazy weekend tour through Shoreditch / Hackney

Note: for the “market” part of the stroll, the market will depend on whether you go on Saturday (then you’ll experience Broadway market, left picture) or Sunday (Columbia Road Flower market, right picture). Both streets are also great without the market, as there are nice shops and good food opportunities anyway!

Broadway Market

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Happy Easter – enjoy with a walk!

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Happy Easter! As I am on vacation without a computer,  I can’t write up a long post for you.
But I wanted to share my Easter Post from last year as it contains one of my favourite walks in London for a walk with the family or friends or your partner or even alone.

Hope you have a great day!

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A walk through Poplar – Brutalism and Beyond

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Last week Sunday at this time, I was in the middle of sunny Poplar to take another guided walk. Poplar, you might ask- why? It’s easy. I have been to the area on two occasions in “interactive games” – one time at a treasure hunt with A Door In a  Wall in the Lansbury Estate and one time at an immersive Macbeth Theatre event in the Balfron Tower. In both occasions, i had become curious on what is behind these (on the first view) so grim masses of concrete.

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Balfron Tower is part of the Brownfield estate and one of Poplar’s most popular buildings.

Luckily for me, Andrew Parnell of Footprints of London is offering an architectural Walk through the social housing estates of Poplar, called “Stock Bricks to Brutalism: Housing Design History in Poplar” – so this was the perfect opportunity to learn more. Not that I am any expert in Architecture – far from it. But I am interested in seeing the design of housing, see patterns and ideas behind the planning and – how it has turned out in reality (and as Poplar Shows, the planned effects have not always been reached).  Continue reading →

Walking the Capital Ring- from Hendon Park to Highgate (Section 11)

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Good morning! Sun is shining, London is waiting! If you don’t have any plans today, why not go on a walk?

The capital ring is great to see parts of the city you’ve never been before. I had rumbled on sections of the Capital Ring in North / East London before (e.g. along the Parkland walk, see here or along the river Lea, see here) but after I made the decision to tackle the complete Ring, this was the first “proper” section I walked in its entirety. The section is 8.5km long and you can find the official map and small description of the route by TfL here.

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I think, this section gives a good flavour on what to expect along the ring in general

– quiet residential areas in Zone 2/3 (wow, those type of “normal family homes” seem to exist in London!)

– unexpected patches of greenery and nature (was i not walking along 5 train tracks a second ago?!)

– sometimes quite boring sections just walking along / next to busy roads (yes, we are still in London)

– unexpected gems and discoveries along the way (yay, found another “official walking path” to tackle on day and hats off to TfL another amazing architectural gem along the way!)

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Walking the Capital Ring – From Stoke Newington to Hackney Wick (Section 13)

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This year, I have started on a new adventure – no, not only blogging here, but to discover some new parts of London. Hence, I am aiming to walk all 15 sections of the Capital Ring, one of the major walking trails in London. I don’t want to go into too much background on the ring (planning a more general post on this, as it really deserves some more background and details), but go straight into sharing part of my walk I did last Sunday (and what a sunny day it was!).  In terms of numbering the sections, I will just stick with the official names, even if in terms of order, I might do them randomly. Section 13 Runs from Stoke Newington to Hackney Wick and is a leisurely 6km (3.7 miles).

You can find all “factual” information and a map with the detailed route from TfL (who manages the walk) – just click here.

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Start Exploring – Ways to discover London by Foot

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Granary Square

If its good weather, there is nothing better than to go out and explore London! One of the best ways is to go by foot. You might not be able to cover as much distance as if going by Public Transport or bike, but its definitely quality over quantity here.

Here are a few ways to get going.

1) Just go somewhere!

This might be stating the obvious but its great fun just to pick an area that you have never been before, take public transport or cycle there and just have a look around! London is always changing so even areas you know can look and feel different after a few months!

Just turn up, walk around, visit shops, visit café’s, museums etc. The app “Foursquare” has been a good companion on these occasions as it usually gives good reviews from locals and points you to places you might like based on your preferences.

To “just go” somewhere, there are so many places to name. But some true favourites of mine where I tend to take people when they visit me are

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