New River Walk

Nice place for a walk — I often walk there on Sundays when I got from The Cellars (one of my favourite Sunday roast places) to Camden Passage /​Upper Street (one of my Sunday places for friends who visit). It is much nicer than plainly walking in the street and also can show out of towners how peaceful London can still be!
The great thing is, no bikes are allowed here so you can have a nice, calming walk. You know you’re metres away from the busy streets of London but you don’t feel it that much. You just stroll along this river (not a natural river but still very pleasant) and see some wildlife — I even spotted a heron once in one of the little islands (yes, I like birds)! Of course you have squirrels as well because, well, you can’t get away from them anywhere in London. Lots of ducks too (they are fairly fat already and I would like to remind the lovely people reading this review that feeding them bread is not actually good for the poor little duckies:
).
There is a lovely little bridge at some point, the water is very clean (I still would not drink it, mind you), and given that there is a reasonable amount of bins, so is the walkway.

What a discovery! Great little river walk through Islington. I cam across it on my way from Finsbury Park to Angel on my weekend walk. Yes, you can walk the distance. The river is not very fast flowing, but the walk next to it is well maintained and has lots of birds and other critters. Nice to get away from all the house, even if they are only hidden behind some large trees.

Oh my, what’s not to love?!
My brood and I took a long, meandering Sunday walk and came upon the New River Walk — an unexpected treat amidst the traffic, buses and busy streets of London. A perfectly situated oasis. You can close your eyes and you might think you were out in a forest preserve somewhere!
From the Islington Parks site: «This park is part of the historic new river that brought water into London, now a peaceful oasis for wildlife, featuring historic linear water features, notable trees including swamp cypress and dawn redwood.»
Also, from my observations: ducks, birds, green leaves and grass, a bridge or two, good photo opportunities and minimal rubbish (either the people that use this are respectful of the New River Walk or the clean up crews are very efficient).
Nearest Highbury and Islington Station or Essex Road Station.
If you are walking in the area or could use this as part of your walking commute — do pop in! Beautiful.

If someone had designed this as a park, then it would be a very strange park indeed. Basically a long strip of meandering ‘fake’ river, with park-​style plantings and a path along the banks. The mystery is solved though it’s actualy one of the remnants of an aqueduct built to bring water into London in the early 1600s. Apparently part of the aqueduct is still in use. The remainder is now just fragments, another being in Clissold Park.
However strange it may be, it’s a lovely place to walk along. As it runs down back streets there’s not too much traffic noise and you can forget the outside world. You may well also see some water birds. Last time I visited I got to watch a heron fishing. It was on the opposite bank, but probably no more than ten feet away from me and apparently unbothered. Really lovely to see: I hope it caught something eventually!
Not a place to come miles to see, unless you are into the history. But if you are in the area it’s a lovely place to walk.