The Microhood: Victoria Park Village

What’s it got that we love?
Along with its reputation for cool, the London borough of Hackney, within shouting distance of the City and Canary Wharf, also has some surprisingly bucolic areas: most notably the neighbourhood known as Victoria Park Village. It’s full of life, with independent shops, a thriving cafe and bar society, lovely pubs and, in Lauriston Road, a thoroughfare tempting walkers to leafy Victoria Park, created in 1845.

The largely Victorian housing in the surrounding streets is good, solid stock, and walks on the towpath of the nearby Hertford Union Canal feel almost rustic. Cyclists abound and Hackney’s once poor public transport links have vastly improved.

Denizens of what is affectionately known as “Vicky Park Village” include a version of east London’s fabled hipsters – albeit slightly more grown-up. They have turned the area into a child-friendly zone, helped by the popularity of Lauriston Primary School and the independent Gatehouse School. The adults let their hair down at the All Points East festival, held in the park in August: free tickets are available to residents in a lottery. “The festival is a big draw,” says James Marshall of Savills Victoria Park and Hackney. “Stormzy and the Strokes played last year, and it really adds to the area’s cool atmosphere.”

The park itself is a gem. “There are two excellent cafes, both near children’s play areas, plus a skate park and splash park, making it an ideal hangout for families,” says Marshall. “At the weekend, I walk my dog to the local bagel shop and the Sunday market, which has so much going on – the fresh crab there is excellent. Over the summer, Savills sponsors the bandstand, where you can pitch up and listen to live music with a picnic.”

How’s the shopping?
Lauriston Road and its environs put paid to rumours about the death of the high street. The thriving mix of shops makes for an entertaining afternoon. Purchase excellent wines at Bottle Apostle to pair with top-end bangers from the Ginger Pig and fresh fruit and veg from Lauriston Grocers. Branch on the Park is an amazing jewellery store with contemporary and vintage gems. You can fit out your new home at Haus, a modernist interiors boutique, and spend hours with the children in The Toybox.

Hang out at…
Victoria Park Village is stuffed with excellent hangouts, including the Hemingway pub, a lazy Sunday favourite. The buzzy Lauriston has pizzas, pints and pub quizzes, while the statelier Empress serves ambitious dishes such as delica pumpkin with chickpeas, cavolo nero, apricot and harissa yogurt. Cafe society offers Boulangerie Jade (top-notch cake) on Lauriston Road and, in the park itself, The Hub and The Pavilion. The best hangout of all, though, is the Sunday market in Victoria Park: a place to find sourdough bread, street food and bloody marys, to a backdrop of live music.

Where to buy?
The catchment area for Lauriston Primary School is prime village territory, with well-built 19th-century brick terraces – Southborough and Penshurst Roads are popular with families. Victoria Park Road has sizeable villas, while homes on Gore Road have the benefit of park views. The desirable streets northeast of Lauriston Road include Groombridge and Edenbridge Roads, both of which lead to Well Street Common, a smaller local park.

The streets south of the park, in Bow, are more affordable, and in the ascendant – including Old Ford and Roman Roads. “The latter has changed dramatically over the past couple of years, with some really nice cafes,” says Marshall. And if you hanker after more urban cool, head east to Hackney Wick, where there’s a lot of new development.

Little Black Book
Bottle Apostle; Ginger Pig; Branch on the Park; Haus; The Toybox; The Hemingway; The Lauriston; The Empress; The Hub; Victoria Park market

Pictures from top: the rustic Hertford Union Canal (Getty); leafy Lauriston Road (LPA Plus); the festival crowd in Victoria Park (Unsplash); and the park’s Chinese Pagoda Island (Alamy)