Where to Stay in Hackney

Where to Stay in Hackney

Accommodation, Clapton, Cycling, Food & drink, Parents & families, Walks talks & tours

Hackney. The name conjures up images of gritty, urban bars, retro antiques markets and artisan, organic, home-brewed coffee in eco-friendly, up cycled, recycled cups. This borough might be known by the uninformed as just a hipster mecca, but HouseTrip.com’s insider resident, journalist and blogger Donald Strachan knows better.

He’s written his own, personalised journey through Hackney for the home stay travel specialists, taking in its family-friendly parks and cycle paths and its impressive collection of independent shops, restaurants and museums and reminding readers just how much there is to love about this buzzing London Borough.

HouseTrip is committed to inspiring visitors to the city and locals alike to see a new side to the capital and teamed up with a fleet of local bloggers and writers for insider Where to Stay Guide for London, which you can explore here: http://www.housetrip.com/content/where-to-stay/london.html#

But, if you’re looking for some Hackney inspiration then look no further than Donald’s guide. Here’s an extract and if you want to see the pictures and the guide in all its glory then you can find it in full here: http://www.housetrip.com/content/where-to-stay/hackney.html

“I’ve lived in Hackney for about 15 years, a period of time that has spanned some lively late twenties and the first decade of parenthood. I don’t remember ever being bored here; it has pretty much everything I need. I mean, everything we need. Hackney’s reputation as a party borough is deserved, but what a most people don’t know is that this is a great place to live with children too.”

“My perfect morning in Hackney

My kids already like to shop, so we keep things fairly affordable at the vintage and second-hand stores like Traid and Beyond Retro, both in Dalston. Along the same street, the art deco Rio Cinema runs a Saturday morning film for kids every week at 11am. Once we’re done there, Mangal Turkish barbecue is a family favourite for lunch. The bread is home-baked, the salad freshly chopped and prepared and the taste of meat cooked simply over open coals is something that even the fussy eater of the family won’t be able to resist.”

10 Comments

  1. Did you read the guide and, if yes, what do you think Donald got spot on or did he miss out your favourite Hackney spot?

  2. Hey look it’s @hackneye 🙂

  3. Hey Em. Yes. It was me! I wrote Hackney and Shoreditch for them.

    See you next week!

  4. Err, well, that red box youve got on that map isnt Hackney by a long shot, its a bit of Tower Hamlets and a bit of Hackney (and a little bit of Islington for good measure). Youve missed out Hackney Wick, Homerton, Clatpton and Stoke Newington (though the author mentions them). Youve got a dot on Victoria Park (in Tower Hamlets) linked to a picture of Columbia Road flower market (also in Tower Hamlets, but a different part).

    Other than that, great!

  5. also the Museum of Childhood is in Bethnal Green, Tower Hamlets. And on the Tower Hamlets page, I’ve never heard anyone describe it as east London, though you could argue it is the east end.

    • Hi Gavin, yes we did take a few liberties with the map outline -we created a colloquial borough to match Donald’s guide, apologies if the borders seem a bit confusing! I think the picture you’re referring to of Colombia Road Flower Market has changed now and is in its rightful place in the Tower Hamlets guide: http://www.housetrip.com/content/where-to-stay/tower-hamlets.html

      P.s. We knew Donald was cheating a little with the Museum of Childhood – he even admits it in his guide! But we thought it was a keeper as Donald argued for its inclusion so persuasively. Thanks for reading the guide. Did you explore any other boroughs?

      • Well, if we are going to be accurate about this, Crate is also in Tower Hamlets!

        • Behave, Em!

  6. I did and theyre pretty good, though a bit light and so more use for a tourist than people that live in those areas.

    By the way, Im surprised youve not done a Newham/ Waltham Forest guide yet, given the wave of people moving into those boroughs now.

  7. I guess there isn’t as much AirBnB/Housetrip/etc going on in Waltham Forest/Newham just yet as the word isn’t out among tourists in the same way as it is for Hackney. I read somewhere that Hackney postcodes have the highest concentration of AirBnB bookings in the whole capital, so clearly a popular place to stay for people who use these services.

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