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November 23, 2015

Redbridge – The Leafy Side of London

There’s a very good reason why the East London Borough of Redbridge is known as the ‘leafy suburb’. With around a third of the borough designated as green belt land, Redbridge is an outdoor lover’s playground of award-winning parks, forests, lakes and open spaces. Six of its thirty-five parks (yes, thirty-five!) have attained the Green Flag Award, a national standard for excellence in green spaces.

From green destruction to green delight

 

In contrast to the destruction of 92% of the Hainault Forest to much public outrage in the 1850s, Redbridge is now home to a number of protected open spaces. These include:

 

  • Three hundred acres of countryside and a petting zoo at Hainault Forest Country Park
  • A wildlife sanctuary and woodland at Roding Valley Park
  • Scenery and fishing lakes at Fairlop Waters Country Park
  • The ornamental gardens of the award-winning Valentines Park and its late-seventeenth-century mansion
  • And the ancient oak trees and meadows in the conservation area of Claybury Woods and Park.

 

With so much accessible greenery, Redbridge offers one of the highest-quality living environments in London.

 

Activity and adventure

 

Redbridge is a fantastic place for the active and outdoor-loving, with a host of organised activities: cycling at Redbridge Cycling Centre, sailing at Fairlop Waters Country Park, beach volleyball at Loxford Park, and parkour obstacle courses or rollerblading on the skate ramps at Seven Kings. It’s hard to be bored in Redbridge.

 

What’s more, many activities like tennis at Goodmayes Park are free thanks to government-funded initiatives. Fairlop Waters County Park was granted £150,000 of funding in 2015by Sport England to put towards yet another project encouraging Redbridge residents to live a more active lifestyle.

 

And if windsurfing on the lake or climbing at the UK’s largest boulder park sound a little bit out of your comfort zone, you can always opt for a good old-fashioned workout at one of Redbridge’s seven outdoor gyms.

 

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Family-friendly

 

With a quarter of the borough covered by forest and greenery, Redbridge is the epitome of the leafy suburb. But it’s not just the abundance of parks and activities that makes Redbridge so family-oriented.

 

It is home to a number of exceptional primary and secondary schools, some of which are  the best-performing schools not just in London but in the entire country. Its multiculturalism – over forty per cent of Redbridge residents come from ethnic minority backgrounds – also makes it one of the most diverse boroughs in London.

 

In addition to its collection of museums, theatre and arts, Redbridge is known as a great place to shop. This year, the High Street in Wanstead, lined as it is with independent shops and known locally for its village community vibe, was named one of the country’s best high streets.

 

No more than seven miles from the centre of town, and with a number of Redbridge’s stations being converted as part of Crossrail, the popularity of this green corner of London is set only to grow as the associated investment and regeneration takes effect.

 

For properties in the Redbridge area, please contact Keatons Wanstead Office on 020  3728 7788.

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