Farms, Flowers and Foxes
Join the walk at Limehouse Station
I returned to Limehouse, prepared for a long walk alongside the Regents Canal. An hour later, I arrived at Mile End where a colossal garden bridge crosses the main road upon which there are trees and a wide path, creating a seamless joining of the open spaces.
The moment that I arrived on the far side of the bridge I spotted two Jays - woodland birds, flashing their distinctive blue and brown feathers as they darted between the trees.
From here onwards I would wander away from the tow path and through the varied landscapes of a linear park.
This stretch of land was once built on and densely packed with warehouses and homes.
And when it all became derelict the intention was to protect this open space and create a green corridor for nature and for people.
But such an ambitious plan takes a great deal more than intention. There would have been powerful financial pressures to allow this land to be developed. And yet it has been conserved and will endure as a natural resource.
Then I walked along tracks of open grasslands and in and out of forest glades. The trees are coppiced to allow light in and here wild flowers grow - attracting butterflies and bees.
This is they way that people and nature can work together. There are also toads and grass hoppers along with hundreds of species of beetles and spiders who have been identified in Mile End Park.
The aspiration to protect this open space and to "Bring the Countryside to the East End" has been fullfilled.
When I returned to the tow path I noticed a strange sight: a holly bush with no prickly leaves. Could it be true that the holly I had seen all around Epping Forest had developed different shaped leaves with spikes to protect itself from being nibbled at by deer? I had read that somewhere and resolved to find out more. How, I wondered, did the holly bush know to do this?
Holly leaves without prickles
It was a puzzle - as was another sight. A smaller canal led off from the main waterway. Where did that lead to? I decided to step away from The Regents Canal and find out.
Some urban explorers discover places in back streets but I prefer to follow paths and byways, avoiding roads and buildings and finding nature on land and water.
I soon realised that I had arrived at Victoria Park. Well Street Common would be on the other side of the park. It would be my next destination and I would return here soon.
Join or leave the walk near Victoria Park or Well Street Common
Buses 8 276 488 along Old Ford Road; 277 425 along Victoria Park Road;
26 388 along Cassland Road
It was Sunday morning when I returned to Well Street Common. As I approached it along a tree lined road I noticed a row of ancient almshouses hiding shyly behind a brick wall and a pair of Arts and Crafts style houses that displayed their rustic beauty.
The houses around here are more than a century old. They are substantial and serious with doors and window frames painted in dark colours and well established front gardens; each one would surely have a piano inside and shelves of books. A small but solid house stood on the corner near to the church yard, with a pointed archway and church like doors.
An urban fox crossed the road in front of me, glancing left and right. They moved into the city from the countryside nearly half a century ago - and Londoners are divided about whether they should be fed, watered and cared for - or seen as vermin who kill and eat their pets.
The tower of St John of Jerusalem rose above the rooftops and the church bells were ringing. The Victorian villas that back on to the common have high brick walls, some with honeysuckle tumbling over the top of them, and doors that lead out onto the common.
St John of Jerusalem
The trees were now in full leaf. Patches of grass had been left to grow - a sight that can be seen more and more as the benefits to wildlife are becoming more appreciated.
Well Street Common
I slowed down on my walk across the common to look more closely at the wildflowers growing in the shade under the trees.
Shade loving flowers
From Well Street Common I would walk across Hackney and I set off towards Victoria Park. It was time to stop for a cup of coffee and here there was a cafe which would once have been a corner shop.
As I walked in I could once again feel myself stepping back in time. There were loaves and bread rolls being lifted into brown paper bags by a moustached man wearing a long apron.
China tea pots were arranged on the shelves behind him and above them a row of earthenware pots and jugs. There were bare floorboards with worn wooden tables and chairs.
Someone from the Victorian age would have felt quite at home here although they may have been puzzled by the letters W I F I written on a black board.
Outside there were such a variety of shops that would make any English town or village proud. A fishmonger, a toyshop, a greengrocer. A butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker.
I didn't actually see the last one as it was only the food shops open on Sunday but there were no doubt candles in the pretty little shops that sold hand made arts and crafts.
And then through the magnifient royal palace style iron gates of Victoria Park. It began to drizzle as I reached a row of trees and followed the desire path beneath them, sheltered by the canopy of leaves and branches.
A desire path
The path was alongside the canal and I hoped that further along I would be able to find an opening and step down onto the canal side. In the far corner of the park there was a patch of land that had been left to nature. The rain had stopped and I found an open gate.
The far corner of Victoria Park
And here I joined the canal path where the only sounds were birdsong, the rhythmic tap tap tapping of the joggers' feet and the occasional purring of a canal boat as it made its way upstream.
Regents Canal
Further along there was a flower bed on the side of the path, with brightly coloured nasturtiums spilling out from a wooden frame.
Nasturtiums beside the canal
And then I came across Sheep Lane, a clue that I was near to the way of The Black Path - the direction that farmers took to walk their livestock to Smithfields many years ago.
It was a short walk from here to Hackney City Farm. It was busy that day with visitors of all ages escaping from their urban surrounds and into a rural sanctuary.
Hackney City Farm
Twelve little piglets, only three weeks old, were snuggling down in the straw until three of them jumped up and moved around, ready to play fight and bite each others' necks. Their mum was hiding away from them in the corner of the pig sty. This was her fifth litter.
Three little piglets
Outside there were donkeys and goats in the fields and an enormous pig wallowing in mud. In the cobblestoned farmyard there were chickens pecking at grains of cereal and ducks gathering together.
Ducks in the farmyard
A cockerel stood away from the ducks and chickens, too proud and important to be part of a crowd.
A cockerel in the farmyard
Over to the side of the farm is an open air eatery, with plants climbing up wooden structures that create walls - a space protected from wind and rain. A path leads to a fenced off area where people were sawing and chiseling, reviving the ancient crafts of woodworking.
I walked back across the farmyard to visit the gardens, full of interest and character with a wide variety of plants and trees and grasses struggling to all fit in.
Hackney City Farm garden
I followed a path that led through the garden, with shoulder high plants moving gently in the wind.
A path through the gardens
A hollyhock seemed to be pointing me towards the end of the garden.
A hollyhock showing me the way
And so I went through the archway into what felt like a secret garden.
A secret garden
Not far from here is another farm - Spitalfields City Farm. It is a mixed farm - where crops are grown and livestock tended - chickens and ducks, donkeys and goats.
The animals were eating - some nibbling, delicately. A huge pig called Holmes did not have the same table manners, grubbing about and trying to shove as much food as he could in his mouth. A human being sitting opposite in a restaurant eating like that would put you off your dinner - yet there was something so charming about his satisfied look that you just cannot stop smiling at him.
And if you are lucky, he may smile back.
Holmes
I was tempted to stop and sit in the wooden shelter as it appeared to offer free wifi - before I read the sign properly and noticed that it actually said free wi-fly as it was a sanctuary for insects.
Free wi fly at the bug hotel
There was another wooden building - this time a quaint little farm shop, inviting me in and tempting me to buy something to support the farm.
The city farms across London rely on donations and grants - and a vast amount of voluntary work.
Those who love them hope that they will endure. All around here this land was once farm land and market gardens, and precious spots here and there have been returned to its pastoral existence.
I walked back up to Columbia Road flower market to buy some herbs and plants. There were hundreds of different plants on the stalls and I chose a fox glove, growing tall and strong.
Fox Glove
My walk through the countryside of East London would end here. I took it home to plant in my garden and thought of the gloveless fox I had seen earlier that day.
Buses 26, 55, 149 or Hoxton Station
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