If Hackney is London’s equivalent of Brooklyn, and Dalston is the equivalent of Williamsburg, then that must make Clapton…
Well, wherever it is you go after Williamsburg…! Clapton is the latest part of east London to experience the influx of hipster types, refurbed pubs, new cafés, pizza places and thrift stores. But all just slowly enough for people to still feel like they’re hanging out somewhere a bit off the beaten track.
Of course I’ve enjoyed the changing neighbourhood – I’m a dyed-in-the-wool urban junkie. But I also love that we live near a canal filled with house boats and a huge open marsh that gives you headspace from the pulsing city. And I’ve been meaning to blog about it for a while now – so when the lovely Karena from Free People mentioned their Free People “Be The Blogger: UK” competition asking UK bloggers to tell them a little a bit about their local area, it seemed the perfect opportunity. (See my recent styling up of Free People’s minimal lace-ups here.)
To give you a flavour of the neighbourhood here’s my favourite coffee shop, homeware store – both on Chatsworth Road, home to the much-loved Chatsworth Road Sunday market – and canal walk.
With a Scandinavian-influenced menu (Swedish meatballs & beetroot salad on sourdough and freshly made cinnamon buns), huge windows looking onto the park, knick knacks and books, babychinos and free bananas for kids, this is easily my favourite Clapton cafe and somewhere I’m guaranteed to bump into a pal. I love the mix of new mums and their babes, people tapping away on laptops and girls in intense one-on-one discussions.
Cooper & Wolf, 145 Chatsworth Road, Lower Clapton, London, E5 OLA
Heaven to browse and I’ve had my eye on one of the little wickerwork chairs out the front for a while now. This Clapton homeware store has an amazing selection of ceramics (one of the owners is a ceramist), recycled wool blankets, handmade leather coin purses and key tassels, vintage ashtrays and toys and more. Only open at weekends for the moment, keep an eye out for weekday evening openings.
Triangle, 92a Chatsworth Road, Lower Clapton, London, E5 OLS
The River Lea runs through the Hackney marshes and a walk by the canal, full of multi-coloured house boats, is one of the best things about living in this neck of the woods. It never gets as busy as London Fields, Primrose Hill or Hampstead Heath, has the advantage of a huge open green space full of flowers and offers quite a few different walks – stay by the river, head off to explore the filter beds, get as close as you can to the Olympic Park or stop at one of the riverside pubs. I never get bored of this.
All images my own.
19 responses to “A Mini Guide To Clapton – London’s Coolest Neighbourhood?”
I love it! what a great idea to do a neighborhood tour! It almost doesn’t even look London-ish, it could be Amsterdam for all we know 🙂 Your neighborhood sounds like it’s heading towards sky rocketing real estate and extreme popularity. I’d say it’s like Red Hook brooklyn – I still remember the time when it was SCARY! but now days all east brooklyn areas are ‘posh’. who ever thought… not I!
Thanks Alla! Yes, we moved in nearly six years ago now. It is changing, but it’s still a real mix. Although there are some crazy high statistics about how many new people are moving to London over the next decade which make you wonder how things will go… Ah, Red Hook, I knew someone would know!
Such a great post! I never made it over to Clapton when I lived in Shoreditch but I think a visit is most definitely on the cards now. You’ve painted such a gorgeous picture!
Best of luck in the comp!
Lou x
Thanks Lou! Yes, it’d definitely worth a visit 🙂
Oh my goodness! What lovely photos! Definitely makes me want to visit Clapton. And best of luck with the FP comp!
xo, Juliette Laura
https://juliettelaura.blogspot.com
https://www.etsy.com/shop/InfiniteStyleShop
Thankyou so much! Really enjoyed taking these, it made for a lovely day out 🙂 x
Yes we are! Check out Clapton Festival, happening on 28th September. Food, music and art. https://www.claptonfestival.com
Ah fantastic, looking forward to this! 🙂
[…] Road in particular, and Clapton in general, is on the up and it has, slightly surprisingly, become one of the great London roads for coffee lovers. In […]
Wow! My hubby and I are relocating to London from South Africa and we found the cutest little flat in Clapton to temporarily rent. Thank you for the info! I am so excited to see this little gem!!
Amazing bit of info, I am moving to London in the next few weeks and Clapton was on my list of areas to look in 🙂 xx
fashiontatt.blogspot.com
very nice
thankyou! 🙂
So I recently put an offer on a flat in the area and thought I’d have a browse for some good area guides. Two years on and your blog post came up!
Thanks SO much for your gorgeous portrayal of the area, love the pics and can’t wait to try out some of these places.
Potentially moving to Clapton this month … loved this blog post, super helpful and lovely photography!
🙂
Oh fantastic! It’s such a great area. And new places popping up all the time! 🙂 x
I grew up in Clapton, attended Clapton School for Girls now know as Clapton Academy. I can only imagine how things have changed, I remember how mixed the neighborhood was and how easy it was to get around, public transportation was the best in London. The local shops and bakeries were always a delight. I would like to see more positive blogs about my old town. Great blog thanks for bringing back memories of how nice it was to live there.
Williamsburg is in Brooklyn?
Muched loved Chatsworth Rd market?
It ain’t loved by me and quite a few others who’ve lived there decades, ive lived in Clapton over 50years. Nothing in the market useful to buy! Just I overpriced food.