The thing I love most about London is the juxtaposition of urban and rural, and nowhere is this better illustrated than in Lea Valley Park. A genuine wilderness where I’ve seen everything from ponies, to a rogue Costco outlet, and all less than 20 minutes from my front door.

Coffee roastery, café, pizzeria and cocktail bar inside an old warehouse just around the corner from Broadway Market.

Go check out this very untypical gallery in the underground. You don't need a ticket and it does only take you a second to soak in the art displayed.

Lovely, open space close to Highbury and Islington with tennis courts, netball courts, kids' playground and Parkrun on a Saturday morning at 9am!  

Half a mile from Markfield Park down the River Lee is Springfield Park. The park rises steeply up from the river and has an amazing array of tree species making it beautiful in all seasons. At the brim of the hill there is a line of park benches each one surrounded by box hedge offering a private view across the Lee Valley, Walthamstow and beyond. The park warden was nice enough to give me a chestnut log a couple of years ago from which I carved a bench and two stools.