Best known are fabulous family parks like Shoreditch Park on your doorstep, Haggerston Park, home to Hackney City Farm; Clissold Park, with its herd of deer and picturesque café, and London Fields, a hipster hangout with its all-year heated outdoor Lido. 

But there’s also the vast expanse of Hackney Marshes, which has the largest concentration of public football pitches in Europe as well as wilderness and wildlife along the River Lea, and smaller charming community spaces such as Hoxton Trust Community Garden and St Mary’s Secret Garden, an inclusive space for locals to get involved in gardening. 

Dalston Curve Garden combines a secluded walled garden with a good bar and pizza joint, magical after dark. Wherever you live, you’ll find your own slice of nature.