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Whipps Cross boating lake is a true hidden East end gem. Located on Whipps Cross flats midway between Walthamstow and Wanstead.

I grew up in the countryside, and if you're ever in need some instant escape from the city, this place is like a time warp. It's a huge space full of over grown mausoleums and graves, feels like a movie set. They also do tours.

The second coffee shop has to be Kaffeine. Having only recently come across this one, I was certainly impressed and they may even have the best coffee I've had, since a short stay in Portland, Oregon.

A walled secret garden, the Physic Garden is like a time capsule, founded in 1673 to allow apprentices of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London to study the healing properties of plants, it is now a living museum. Tours are offered by volunteers with immense knowledge of botany and the cultural history of the garden or visitors can wander the grounds alone and spot odd and fascinating plants such as the mystical Mandrake.