Mile End and Bow area guide

Mile End boasts some enviable pockets of serenity. The Regent’s Canal offers a charming route north to Victoria Park or south to Limehouse, and Mile End Park offers a lovely kids’ play area (with special apparatus for children with disabilities) and its own bridge carrying it over the main road.

Gentrification is very much under way here, which is good news if you like nice pubs and a steadily improving café scene. Slightly further out is Bow, but tucked away en route to Vicky Park is Roman Road, a real gem of a high street with a good mix of independent shops and a palpable community spirit.