Plenty of gems in Hackney Wick

Shortly after putting up a few pics on Facebook a friend of mine commented on my post, asking if I’d come across any Hackney Diamonds on my ride. At first, I was a tad puzzled by the query. I’d only recently heard the term: I knew it was the latest album by the Rolling Stones — but until that moment I hadn’t paid much attention to the title or what it meant.

Curious for some sort of explanation, I take a moment to consult the Google and find an explanation straight from the horse’s mouth — Stones lead singer Mick Jagger: “Yeah, it’s like when you get your windscreen broken on Saturday night in Hackney, and all the bits go on the street.”

Oh, I see. Makes sense now, as my cycling on that particular day was around the London neighbourhood of Hackney Wick.

I had previously been to London several times, but until this visit I had mostly stayed in the central part of town, touring the usual sites like the Tower of London, London Eye, Big Ben, Borough Market, Covent Garden, and the West End theatre district. On this trip, I have ventured out to explore a few other areas, including Hackney Wick.

Part of somewhat notorious East London, Hackney Wick once had a reputation for crime, gang activity and — according to Mick — broken windshields. But the area has undergone significant regeneration and improvement in recent years and is a thriving destination for visitors to the UK capital.

Once a working-class area with strong ties to manufacturing, characterized by warehouses and factories, Hackney Wick has emerged as a vibrant creative and cultural hotspot. The area has retained a gritty urban feel but also an artistic flair.

Trendy cafes, bars and eateries have replaced many of the old industrial buildings and there’s a palpable counter-culture vibe to Hackney Wick. And while the area is predominantly populated by millennial hipsters, boomers with an inner-hippie will feel right at home.

Umberto Longo, who owns a very cool bike shop in the area, was living in Milan when a friend pitched him the idea of setting up shop in London’s east end.

At Wicked, Longo rents refurbished bikes that have fanciful names like Minnie, Jerry, The Brain and Speedy Gonzales. His shop’s logo is a mouse, a cheeky homage to an area that was once full of rodents.

Hackney Wick is a bit of a cycling hub — and it’s proximity to rivers and canals give it a mini-Amsterdam feel.

“There’s lots going on in the area. It’s a cool place to be,” says Longo. “It’s trendy and hip, but not super busy like some other places. It’s a great place to just jump on a bike and explore.”

And so that’s what I did. With a few suggestions from Umberto, here’s what I discovered (no Hackney Diamonds, but plenty of gems):

Routes to ride:

• Pedal along the River Lea and River Lee Navigation — a canalised river incorporating the River Lea — and you will discover a fascinating and thriving community of beautiful houseboats. There are approximately 100 kilometres of canals and navigable waterways in London that form a significant part of the city's landscape and provide various recreational and residential opportunities. Permanent mooring licenses are expensive and hard to come by, so most folks have continuous cruiser licenses that require them to move their boat every 14 days, creating an ever-changing landscape. Watching the community come to life on a morning ride is a unique experience;

• Start your ride at the Hackney Marshes Centre and follow the River Lea to the Walthamstow Marshes and then the Walthamstow Wetlands. The Wetlands is an urban nature reserve, teeming with a variety of wildlife. Once you've soaked up all the beauty, follow the circular route back to the Hackney Marshes;
  

• From the intersection where the Lea and Lee converge with the Hertford Union Canal, head along the canal for about a kilometre to the spectacular Victoria Park, which is known for its scenic lakes, beautiful gardens, picturesque paths and wide open spaces. London's oldest public park, known as the "People's Park," is a perfect place to take a break and have a snack;

• After enjoying the park, follow the Hertford Canal to its conclusion at Regent’s Canal that stretches across an area just north of central London and passes notable places like Little Venice, Camden Market, Regent’s Park, King’s Cross and Broadway Market, a lively street market in Hackney. Paths along the canals can be narrow and crowded at times, so take your time and enjoy the serene and scenic ride.

From two wheels to two feet — suggestions for a walk in the Wick:

• Hackney Wick is famous for its ever-changing street art. The area is basically an open gallery with huge murals, graffiti and installations by local and international artists everywhere. Some of the most iconic murals can be found near Hackney Wick Station, along Wallis Road, White Post Lane and Rothbury Road;

• The area has a wide range of independent boutiques and shops selling everything from vintage clothing to handmade crafts and local artwork. I was particularly impressed by a shop called Refill Therapy that is on a mission to help reduce waste and remove single-use plastic from our everyday lives, through accessible refilling and reusing;
  

• Managed by artists, the London Centre for Book Arts is a hub for bookmaking and printmaking enthusiasts and offers workshops, studio space and resources for artists. Visitors learn that Hackney Wick was once known as the publisher’s paradise and you can watch people make letterpress prints and bind their books;

• London is of course known for its tea time, but there is a whack of great coffee stops in Hackney Wick. One I suggest is Bad Coffee — cuz you just gotta love that name. Founded on a love of coffee culture and the rituals surrounding it, the folks at Bad work with small farms in order to contribute to sustainable agriculture and socio-economic change within origin countries. Their slogan is Good Bad Not Sh*t and they claim to love music but hate techno. Now that’s something I can support. And they’re right; the coffee was not sh*t!;
  

• Perhaps as communal-hippie as it gets, the Hackney Wick Community Sauna is a soulful sanctuary, where kindred spirits gather to cleanse and connect. The warm, earthy space is a perfect place to relax and let tensions melt away. Very soothing after a day of cycling. There is a wide variety of treatments available — from traditional Aufguss and sound baths to breathwork, queer poetry and speed dating. Peace, love and steam.

Grab some grub:

Hackney Wick has a diverse and creative culinary scene with an abundance of very good options. Here are three suggestions:

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• Permanently moored at the junction of the Lee, the Lea and the Hertford Canal, Barge East is a floating bar and restaurant owned by three childhood friends who teamed up to sail De Hoop, a 122-year-old Dutch Barge from Den Helder in Holland, across the North Sea to Hackney Wick. There are several distinct dining options, including: beautiful indoor seating in the lower quarters; a garden terrace; and an awesome alfresco deck where I sat and enjoyed unspoiled views of the canals, London’s skyline, and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Stadium. I sampled a number of scumptious small plates, including a memorable pine cured trout with garden radish, orange, hazelnut and burnt pine cream;

• CRATE Brewery & Pizzeria is a hip canalside restaurant and pub that has high-vaulted ceilings accompanied by bare light bulbs, benches made from recycled coffee sacks and a bar pulled together using railway sleepers. I had a very tasty margherita pizza for lunch on one my biking days that was top-notch. Particularly enjoyed the thin and crispy crust;
  

• I’m always on the lookout for a killer food court and Hackney Bridge is home to a range of fantastic street food vendors; offering everything from Japanese inspired soul food, to Indian street food, Filipino barbecue, Neapolitan pizza and juicy burgers. The space is divided into two sections: the ground floor, housing the food traders and the upper mezzanine has plenty of seating. You can’t visit London without having a few good curries and I highly recommend the chicken curry at Tamila.

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Cross that bridge when you get to it:

Across the river from Hackney Wick is Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park — established for the 2012 Summer Olympics — and Stratford City, a major urban development that includes one of Europe’s largest shopping centres. This is new London and there is an abundance of entertainment options, including:

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• Held in ABBA Arena, a purpose-built venue, ABBA Voyage is a virtual concert residency by the Swedish pop group that features digital avatars, depicting the group as they appeared in 1979 and using vocals re-recorded by the group specifically for the show. The avatars chat with the audience that dances the night away to hits like Mama Mia, Dancing Queen and SOS. It was a real hoot and made you winder if all concerts will someday be virtual depictions of our favourite bands. Next up, the Rolling Stones as they were in 1970s!?;

• Constructed for the 2012 Games and now home to the West Ham United Football Club, London Stadium dominates its surrounding area. A 60-minute tour of the stadium includes a visit to the West Ham dressing room, the players’ tunnel and pitchside areas and panoramic views;

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• Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park spans 560 acres and offers a blend of sports, leisure, and nature. It has beautifully landscaped gardens, public art installations, and its well-lit walking paths are a lovely place for an evening stroll;

• Featuring the world’s longest tunnel slide — no, I didn’t do it — the ArcelorMittal Orbit is a 115-metre-tall steel sculpture that also has an impressive observation tower that provides spectacular panoramic views of the city: yes, I did that. It is currently closed for refurbishment until early 2025;

• The Lee Valley VeloPark is the ultimate cycling hotspot in the area. Making use of one of the permanent venues from the Games, visitors can choose from cycling the track in the iconic velodrome, racing on the road circuit, tackling the mountain bike trails or jumping and bumping on the berms of the BMX track. It was super cool to do a few laps on the 1.6-km road course and then switch and do a few sections of the eight kilometres of mountain bike trails. There are some great views of London on the road course;

• One of my favourite museums in London is the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington: I saw the terrific Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains, a history of the band, there in 2017. In 2025, V&A East Storehouse and Museum will open in QE Park. There are a number of planned exhibitions, including The Music Is Black: A British Story that will celebrate 125 years of Black music-making in Britain and reveal how Black British music has shaped British culture;
  

• Opened in 2011, Westfield Stratford City is one of the largest malls in Europe. If you’re looking to do some shopping, it has every brand-name store you can think of. Origin Kicks, a luxury sneaker store and a curator of rare grails, has every imaginable style of Air Jordan on display in glass showcases, including an Off White  pair that was priced priced at £8,999.95! The mall also has numerous entertainment options, including London’s largest indoor amusement park, and four up-scale food courts. If you like malls at all, be sure to check this one out.

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Where to stay:

There aren’t a lot of hotel options in Hackney Wick, but, there are plenty of places to stay in Stratford. I spent several nights at the very comfortable Hyatt Regency London Stratford, which is ideally located adjacent to the mall, close to the park and a 20-minute walk from Hackney Wick. The hotel has a dynamite breakfast buffet and one of the best views from a treadmill, inside the 12th-floor gym, you’ll ever experience; if you’re so inclined, that is.

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I hope this information is helpful to you when planning a trip to London and might want to include a venture east to Hackney Wick. If you have any questions or would like some other suggestions, feel free to drop me a line. I’m happy to help.

Steve

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