Whether it’s cappuccinos or cocktails you are after on a Sunday, London spoils you for choice.

A huge selection of leisure routes include canals, waterways, strolling and shopping, and the open spaces of London’s parks.

Here are some ideas:

Spitalfields

Old Spitalfields Market, and it’s cobbled streets, are steeped in history.

Strolling around here on a Sunday is always fun, whether you feel like a splurge or are holding back the urge. A haven of cool, offering funky bars and retro tea rooms, ripe for longuing around in of an afternoon.

5 minutes from Liverpool Street station. E1

Columbia Road Flower Market

Flower hustle, and a row of Victorian shops, make this a good old fashioned East London trip down memory lane. International repute and interesting shopping, so go early and grab the goodies.

Open from 8am – 2pm.

Hampstead Heath

Located four miles from Trafalgar Square, Hampstead Heath is one of London’s best loved green spaces that allows you to feel you are out of the city, whilst being a stones throw from the city centre.

It includes Golders Hill Park (with a zoo and butterfly house), an open air Lido (open 365 days a year), swimming ponds, countless sports facilities, athletics tracks and all that jazz.

A great option for people who are on a budget and want to feel like they are in the countryside, for an afternoon of sunshine sprawling.

NW3

Highgate Woods

Five mins away from the twee Highgate village, is an ancient woodland, offering wildlife and history. Highgate Woods has received the Green Flag Award, an award for the best green spaces in the country, for over ten consecutive years, alongside the Green Heritage Award in recognition of achieving the required standard in managing sites with historic importance.

An information hut showing off all it’s fauna and species, plus The Highgate Wood café is (open from 9am every day) makes for a great Sunday afternoon relaxing strolling around the grounds and having a slice of cake afterwards.

Opens 7.30am, closes at sunset (4.30pm winter, 9.45pm summer)

N8, Bus routes 43, 134 and 263 stop outside Highgate Wood or Highgate Underground station, on the Northern Line.

London City Gardens

London cities largest open space, overflowing with trees, shrubs, flowers and a wide variety of wildlife.

On Sundays at 1.30pm, there is a walking tour covering the maze-like array of gardens, churchyards, parks and squares. Starting at St Pauls and heading towards London Bridge, visiting gardens, along the riverside and through the heart of Roman London. Meet outside the Tourist Information Office opposite St Paul’s Cathedral. From April – October.

All walks are £7 per person – children go free.​

Other walks and routes are available. citygardenwalks@hotmail.co.uk​

Regents Canal & London Zoo

One of London’s best-kept secrets and a peaceful haven. One hundred miles of canals in London offering an alternative to the smog of the city linking a cross-section of attractions. Pack a picnic, take a boat ride, and spend the day exploring Regent’s Canal, a quiet and atmospheric waterway including Little Venice, Regents Park, Camden Lock Market and Broadway Market and London Zoo.

In Camden, it passes the cool craft stalls and London alternative culture, heading towards the East End, and it’s many small independent art galleries and studios.

A serious hike or cycle, or a leisurely boat ride.

Good news: Transport for London and the London Boroughs have invested around £5 million in towpath improvement over the past five years.

Hackney City Farm for lunch

A farm right in the heart of the city, this is an ideal location for a stop-off before or after heading to Broadway Market. It’s free to stroll around the farm. There is also a good farm
shop selling different kinds of products from the garden and farm.
A real family friendly afternoon out, and the Frizzante café offers a good selection of inexpensive lunch items.

1a Goldsmith’s Row, E2

See the site for what’s on http://hackneycityfarm.co.uk/events/whats-on

The City Of London website has a map showing all of London’s green spaces here.

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/Pages/interactive-map.aspx

Words and photos by Nicola Ferlei-Brown

Read full article in Macs Magazine http://www.macsmagazine.com/2014/02/sunday-strolls-in-london/