In honour of Black History Month, for our October walk we followed the Dalston end of the Windrush Line walk, from a series of walks by TfL and walking app Go Jauntly based on the recently-renamed Overground lines.
Starting at Dalston Junction station, our first stop was the Hackney Peace Carnival mural designed in 1983 by artist Ray Walker, finished by fellow artist and friend Mick Jones and restored in 2014. In the same space is Future Hackney photography and social engagement project The Strip, A visual love letter to our neighbourhood.
Walking along Dalston Lane, we passed new shops, tucked-away buildings, our October coffee venue and curved round to Ridley Road Market. Since the 1880s, the market has served the area's diverse communities. We wandered through a world of stalls: clothes, cloth, rugs, cookware, fruits and vegetables (Giant avocados, anyone?) to the mural at the end.
Our next stops were Bradbury Street and Gillet Square, rich in music history, home to the Vortex Jazz Club and with a mirrored artwork where we paused to play with the multiple images it gave us of our walking group.
Dalston Curve Garden, at the start of the route, is open from midday, so as we meet at 11am, we made that our last stop, a beautiful green oasis for coffee. We reached the end of the garden just in time to be treated to a tour by the head gardener of its normally hidden growing and education space, with raised beds, espalier apple trees – and some magnificent tromboncino squash, modelled for scale by our very own Heather.
Fancy joining one of our walks? Look out for our 'Coming up' blogposts.
Pictures by Alison, Christine, Heather and Lydia
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