Best Outdoor Activities in Walthamstow

"Waterlow Park makes for a great alternative to Hampstead Heath and is still a bit of a hidden gem thanks to its more famous neighbour. As well as three ponds, the lawns are all well maintained and Lauderdale House on the edge of the park is worth a look too. Plus it’s near to Highgate Cemetery, which houses Karl Marx, Douglas Adams and more."

"It’s not just the height of Highgate Hill that makes you look down your nose at the rest of London. The air tastes sweeter up here, the trees are leafier, and everything is a bit less, well, Londony. And Highgate’s loveliest spot?"

"Bringing a taste of provincial France to Clerkenwell, La Petite Ferme is a restaurant that takes a rustic approach to French cuisine. This eatery sources artisanal produce and sticks to traditional Gallic recipes, meaning rich flavours are guaranteed. There’s garlic butter Burgundy snails, foie gras with brioche, top-quality French cheese platters and truffle mash potatoes."

"What better surroundings to feast on traditional French countryside fare than in La Poule au Pot's rustic interiors?. They do the 'on-trend' mix of exposed brickwork and dark wood so well, because it's authentic to the style of cuisine they're serving and hasn't been modernised at all. It's lit by flickering candles so everyone looks glowing and warm as you gaze across your escargots, foie gras and expertly cooked fillet of sole at your dining partner."

"Restaurants French Belgravia. A classic French restaurant in Belgravia, La Poule au Pot has oodles of charm and a very summery white-tableclothed outdoor dining area that’s open during the warmer months. The food is gloriously old-school: think pan-fried scallops and foie gras terrine to start; tender, slow-braised beef bourguignon to follow."

"Add some je ne sais quoi to your date night at La Poule au Pot, a long-running restaurant that brings Gallic flavours to Belgravia. The rustic decor and vintage tableware are good talking points, even before you discuss the merits (or not) of ordering snails."

"This family-run coffee house and bakery, based out in Battersea, is who you should be visiting if you want to get a taste of a real-deal Filipino panaderia. Kapihan does the business on a range of sweet and savoury Filipino-style pastries with light and airy pandesal bread being the real hero item on the menu. The pan de coco (a pandan-infused brioche with a coconutty sweet cream filling) and chocolate Spanish bread (a fluffy pandesal filled with a slightly molten mixture of 75% South Cotabato chocolate and hazelnut raw creme) are perfect for pairing with a cup of freshly brewed coffee."

"Nigel and David Motley’s new home in Battersea Park delivers beautiful, exacting Filipino baking, but also single origin coffee from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Myanmar, countries which speciality coffee has either recently deigned to recognise, or remain systemically overlooked. Now serving coffee through the hatch Monday — Saturday, guest roasts from Barcelona’s Nomad are complemented by a natural Filipino coffee that tastes of peaches and caramel. Reopens Saturday 9 January."

"I’ve already shouted about Kapihan as one of the best bakeries in London, but it’s also one of the best coffee shops, too. The family-run business – founded by brothers David and Nigel Motley – is one of the few places in London brewing specialty coffee sourced from the Philippines. Those Filipino beans are then roasted and brewed in Battersea alongside a handful of guest coffees that have been selected from the team’s favourite roasters from around the world."

"Dee Rettali and Jorge Fernandez set at least some of the templates for London’s approach to coffee and baked goods at Fernandez and Wells. The emphasis here is on slow-fermented doughs with wild yeasts, and unlike many, excellent bakeries, that extends to sweet buns and even cakes affably named “Blocks,” rather than sticking to sourdough. There’s also something called a beef and onion roll, which is what would happen if a sausage roll went to the gym; stuffed with a huge hunk of stickily caramelised, slow-braised meat."

"Bakes, buns, bread, and coffee – that’s what you can get from Fortitude Bakehouse and, honestly, what more could you possibly ask for from life?. Fortitude’s sourdough loaves are complex creations, blessed with just the right amount of satisfying chew and tang; the sticky buns are wonderfully light and sweet; and the hefty slices of cake, which are also made from sourdough, sit somewhere in-between. Whatever carbohydrate you’re in the mood for, Fortitude Bakehouse is guaranteed to satisfy your desire."

"A small but perfectly formed bakery tucked away on a quiet mews. Fortitude’s speciality is sourdough cakes that are baked with alternate flours using a slow fermented baking process. Stop by for a morning bun, a cuppa tea and a look at all the other pastries and treats they have."