A weekend in Hackney

A weekend in Hackney, a much needed break.
Children safely left in Gloucestershire we jumped aboard the VDub and took the M4 eastbound to the big smoke. What followed was just under 48 hours of chilling out with many miles walked and many photos snapped.

En route, some happy mail all the way from New Zealand set the weekend off to a perfect start.

A late evening stroll to explore the immediate area where we discovered side streets and hidden squares housing vintage vans and cars.

Saturday, and we headed out past the famous Hackney Empire beginning our day of exploring with a quiet drink at Volcano Coffee Works, nestled all EastEnders like beneath the railway arches. We wandered across London Fields with its beautiful wild flower meadow - a peaceful haven within a hive of activity all around us; runners, dog walkers, cyclists, families, fitness bootcamps, yogis - definitely my kind of park.

Our wandering took us past graffiti lined streets into the heart of Broadway Market with its stalls of organic meat, fruit and vegetables, vintage clothes, vinyl, cakes, breads and cheeses. A great place to spend some time going at a slow pace, perusing the stalls, sampling some food, listening to the top class buskers and standing back to people watch. The market leads to the Regent's Canal where the towpaths were crammed with walkers, cyclists and runners vying for space to move. As we headed west the crowds thinned out and we left the canal towpath to explore Hoxton and Shoreditch, not realising quite how close we were to the sights of London, we retraced our steps back to Hackney where we cosied up in the Picturehouse Bar before the rain poured down - and spotted Ed Miliband propping up the bar.

As always, when spending time away, the weekend flew by and we had to head for home. Sunday saw us take a detour through the heart of London to take in some classic sights; the Gherkin, Tower Bridge, St Paul's, the London Eye and Nelson's Column were all eagerly snapped through the windscreen or precariously through the open side window as we whizzed along the busy streets and headed out to find the M4 to take us back west.

 

Plans are now underway to take the children for a few days of sightseeing and park exploring whilst I definitely feel the need for another childfree trip to walk all the way into London and explore more markets, shops and hidden areas.

 

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