I like to go out for a long walk every day, and I like to keep it varied.
Last week I see I walked in a different direction each day.
Mon 19 ↖
Fri 23 ↑
Tue 20 ↗
← Sun 25
⌂ Wed 21
→ Thu 22
↓ Sat 24
Monday 19th(northwest)
This is Clapton Pond, E5. It's been here since the 17th century, back when all this was hay fields, fed by a natural spring from which farmers would bring their animals to drink. The Victorians ornamentalised it, splitting it in two and adding a footbridge, flower beds and a gravel path. Today it remains an oasis of watery green amid Clapton's choked bustle. Normally I'd expect to see ducks and loafing youth, probably smoking something, and these boxes were indeed ticked. What I've never seen before is a heron, in this case perched atop an ivy-strangled treetrunk and scanning the area for prey. Finer hunting grounds could be found a short distance up the Lea Bridge Road, but Clapton's ponds are still stocked with fish so it may not have been an entirely wasted stakeout.
Tuesday 20th(northeast)
This is Forest Gate, E7. Specifically it's three wayfinding signs along Woodgrange Road pointing the way from Wanstead Park station (Overground) to Forest Gate station (TfL Rail). For some reason no similar wayfinding signs have been provided pointing the other way. But what really baffled me were the distances on the three signs which have been given to an unusual degree of accuracy. Normally you'd expect distances to the nearest 50m, maybe 10m, maybe even 5m. The final sign could have been rounded to any of these, but 242m and 159m plainly haven't. I did some checking to see if the trio might potentially be rounded Imperial distances but no, they equate to 265 yards, 174 yards and 55 yards respectively. Presumably then the given measurements are the actual distances to the station entrance which some signmaker has accidentally let out into the wild without the usual arithmetical blurring.
Wednesday 21st
Rained all day. Admitted defeat. Stayed in.
Thursday 22nd(east)
This is Hadleigh Walk in Beckton, E6. The residential streets of Beckton are entirely atypical for Newham, and indeed for most of inner London, having been built as late as the 1980s. Houses rather than flats are slotted in along quiet branching streets, always with parking out front, and invariably a back garden because space wasn't at a premium back then. Mini-cul-de-sacs are everywhere, not quite unkempt but past their prime, now overlooked and outshone by some resplendent trees. Hadleigh Walk is a lengthy back alley which planners must have hoped would bring neighbours together, but because they only drive it mostly keeps them apart. Walking for several minutes between its shady fences reminded me somehow of Milton Keynes.
Friday 23rd(north)
This is Hackney Bridge, E20, which finally opened this week. Picture a collection of temporary sheds on a future development plot, officially targeting small businesses and creative workers but with dreams of becoming a cultural canalside destination. So far the only useful presence appears to be a bespoke skateboard workshop (and some toilets), but a nail bar, perfumery and tuck shop won't be far behind. The architects have been to town with big bold colours, chunky wooden seating and painted stripes on the boardwalk, all the better to generate some necessary Insta-appreciation. Were this not 2020 it ought to do well, providing somewhere new for Hackney Wick's youthful incomers to collectively experience, but its best hope for the next few months may be woolly-gloved beer. It's here until 2032, so need to rush just yet.
Saturday 24th(south)
This is Mudchute Farm, E14. It's London's largest city farm, at 32 acres, covering an expanse unsurprisingly once used for the dumping of dredged mud. Today it smells more of manure, with over 100 cute animals and rare breeds kept in enclosures at the heart of the Isle of Dogs, and is freely accessible to the public. My visit was enlivened by two particularly frisky donkeys, which made up for the fact that the sheep were all sitting placidly by a fence so weren't in position for the classic Canary Wharf backdrop photo. Wandering deeper into the site is prohibited at present, but horse-riding lessons continue unabated, the cut-through to Asda is still open and small children never fail to get overly excited.
Sunday 25th(west)
This is Petticoat Lane Market, E1, a Sunday East End staple. It spreads along Middlesex Street and Wentworth Street, there being no Petticoat Lane as such, and is the place to come for cut price fashion "as sold in stores" honest guv. I thought I'd grab a photograph of the buzzing commercial scene, and was taken aback when an officious gentleman with a clipboard strode over and asked me if I'd taken his picture. Not deliberately, I said, but you're probably in the frame somewhere. He insisted I delete it, then stood grudgingly at a social distance while I pretended to do so, then grumbled off. I've pixelated out his face because I'm not unreasonable, not that you'd ever have noticed him anyway.
