Stoke Newington feels like a village squatting in London. Once the home of radical thinkers and religious breakaways, it’s retained its somewhat bohemian character. At its nucleus is Church Street, a long stretch of independent shops, pubs, and restaurants spilling out onto the pavements. It’s bookended by the area’s sprawling green spaces; the well-kept Clissold Park with its lakes and a café in a mansion, and Abney Park with its surprisingly beautiful Victorian cemetery.
Adrenaline junkies can get a fix at the Castle Climbing Centre, housed in a former water treatment works that was built to resemble a castle, and saved from demolition in the ‘70s. Or take a dip in the vast West Reservoir, open-air ponds for wild swimming surrounded by trees.
Both of which give you a very good excuse to stop by one of London’s best gelaterias afterwards…