Nearly four years have passed since I moved to Leyton. My husband and I moved to Leyton to purchase a three-bedroom house with garden. We found a fixer upper just off Leyton High Road, and have been happily living there ever since. Friends had moved to Leyton from Hackney and so it was familiar. Best eating and drinkingMy main haunted Japanese pop-up is Filly Brook on Grove Green Road. Here I devour panko-crusted cauliflower, tempura mackerel, and shiso and sour plum. Morny Bakehouse / Matt WrittleI go to Perky Blenders, Leyton High Road, for sustainable coffee. It’s family-run and has a friendly atmosphere. The Morny bakery on Francis Road serves delicious croissants and doughnuts. Heathcote & Star on Grove Green Road has a large beer garden. Lighthaus on Argall Avenue is the best place to go for Sunday lunch. Hollow Pond in Leyton Flats/ Alamy Stock PhotoI love long-distance running. Leyton Marsh is right on our doorstep. The Flats are slightly further north. Or you can run along Enfield’s canal. I also do laps around Victoria Park, which is a nice 3-mile loop. Leyton Yoga on High Road offers great classes. There’s also the Aquatic Centre at the Olympic Park and VeloPark at Olympic Park, which are both only five minutes away. To commune with nature, I discovered the Leyton Boundary Garden, which is a place where locals get together every Saturday to tend to their fruit, veg, and flowers. Errol Fernandes is the Horniman Museum and Gardens’ Head of Horticulture. InstagramFor a culture fixHost Leyton, which was once a car parts shop, hosts pop ups, talks, and exhibitions. The High Road is the location and there’s a studio for hire. They also rent co-working spaces. Patchworks is a former furniture warehouse on Church Road where you can find live music, workshops, and makers markets. It’s great to discover that Leyton is home to some of our own makers. Lola Lely and Sasa Works are both here, as well as Alexander White, whom we’re launching in a new light this month. Hackney Picturehouse is 15 minutes away by bus. I go there to watch films. The plans for Stratford look amazing. The plans for Stratford are amazing. Marmelo Kitchen is also located on the same street. This restaurant has been converted to a deli during lockdown. It sells local produce, and provides catering services. If you are interested in cooking, the High Road shops are run by families from India and Poland. They have a great selection of fruit and vegetables, as well as exciting ingredients from their cultures. I can easily get to our gallery near Bond Street by taking the Central line. It’s just one stop to Stratford where you can change to the Jubilee, or take the high-speed train that takes you to King’s Cross in seven mins. The Pocket Park Community Garden is a wonderful urban gardening project that brings people together. Residents set up stalls in their front gardens and sell everything from jam and jumble to plants and crafts.What’s the catch?The sense of community is growing, but it’s still emergent.In three wordsCommunity-driven, eclectic, emerging.In celebration of London Craft Week, The New Craftsmen is running Plant Explorations, featuring Sasa Works and Lola Lely (thenewcraftsmen.com)READ MOREWhy I live in Brockley: Supper club host Rahel Stephanie on why she swapped Hackney for south LondonLiving in Hackney: director Nadia Latif shares her tips for her diverse East End communityLiving in Primrose Hill: Sadie Frost on why she returned to the north London village where she was brought upPrimaries including Riverley and Willow Brook which are rated outstanding by Ofsted. The following are good secondaries: Norlington, Belmont Park, Lammas, George Mitchell and Norlington.
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