With 3,000 areas of public green space in London, what do we think’s so special about Victoria Park?
There’s the space! So much of it (at 86.18 hectares, it’s the largest in Tower Hamlets), and so green! It’s a place for picnics, for strolls, for cycles, for runs.
There’s the location! A verdant oasis in the heart of East London, connecting Bow, Bethnal Green and Hackney, and running alongside the idyllic Regent’s Canal.
And then there are the sweet, sweet facilities:
You’re more than catered for when it comes to food and drink. There’s the much-loved Pavilion Café, with its distinctive domed roof, which continues to offer a phenomenal (and unique) combination of cooked English breakfasts and Sri Lankan fare. Stop by the Happy Endings hatch to bolster your walk with a hot pud in winter, or an ice cream sandwich in summer.
There’s The Royal Inn on the Park, which happens to boast one of London’s most charismatic and alluring beer gardens (though of course this isn’t for a moment a suggestion that by visiting here you should forgo one of life’s great joys – Summer Tinnies In The Park). And then there’s the Victoria Park Market – there, on Sundays, just when you need it, ready to scoop you up and make everything better with small batch ice creams and cheese toasties bigger than your torso and fragrant, nourishing biryani.
There’s the boating lake, of course. Forty-odd boats, yours for the rowing (that’s right, rowing – this is proper stuff) around an unreasonably picturesque tree-lined lake, with a stunning view of the enormous Chinese Pagoda. Oh – did we not mention the Chinese Pagoda? Because there is one, and it’s got a beautiful bridge that leads to it, and it’s just really good stuff.
Samuel Regan-Asante/Unsplash
And that’s it. Psych! It’s got an honest-to-goodness music festival. The mighty All Points East, which is a thriving and brilliant festival which you can enjoy to your fullest and then – crucially – go home to your shower and your bed and your sufficient-quantities-of-water afterwards. It’s brilliant, and has played host to Nick Cave, Tame Impala, The National, The Chemical Brothers amongst maaaany others.
It’s probably one of the best parks in London. At least, it’s in the top 2000.
NOTE: Victoria Park is free to visit and open daily from 7am till dusk. The closest stations are Mile End, Cambridge Heath or Hackney Wick. You can see maps, and find out more, HERE.
Victoria Park | Grove Road, London E3 5TB
After a day in the park… it’s time to check out the best bars and restaurants near London Fields