Shoreditch Park

Shoreditch Park is like an ugly dog.

Even an ugly dog is still pretty good -- because its a dog and I like most dogs. That's how it is at this park. It's a park, which means its a nice place to hang out, relax, open space, a large boulder, an ugly "x" sculpture art thing, etc. It serves its purpose, though not in high fashion.

Even an ugly park is a park -- and for that, we thank it.

*no bathroom facilities.
*courts must be booked at Brittania Leisure Centre.

Shoreditch Park is great! Okay, I'll admit that I may be wearing rose tinted glasses. I've grown up with and lived around the corner from Shoreditch Park all my life, so I do have a soft spot for it. I've given it a 4/5 but in reality it should probably receive a 3/5 for its 'parkness'.

Shoreditch Park is kind of split into two parts. On the east side you have a big pitch area that's mainly used for sports (read football). Bordering it is an adventure playground for kids (no adults allowed) and outdoor courts which can be booked at Britannia Leisure Centre. The west side of the park borders New North Road and has more grass with footpaths running through it at various points. There's a children's play area on this side along with London's only outdoor volleyball area (or so I here) and a rack of Santander hire bikes. There's also a big random boulder that people can climb on and a little amphitheatre type area.

Throughout the year you'll find the park filled with runners, dog walkers, footie teams and the odd exercise class (including a free one by Our Parks). Every now and again it'll also play host to fun fairs, community events and even the odd festival. The park really comes into its own in spring and summer when the weather is nice. You get a real mix of people out on these days: groups of friends enjoying drinks, families picnicking, couples sunbathing, oldies chilling on benches, children playing and young professionals enjoying a game of Catch/Frisbee. BBQs aren't allowed but as there isn't really a park keeper people tend to flout this rule. There's such an amazing vibe on these days that even if you're walking through the park in the worst of moods you'll walk out the other end feeling much happier.

Shoreditch Park has never appealed to me. From outside it looks like a rather flat and bleak expanse of grass. It's also bounded by some rather ugly housing estates. But in the interests of furthering my knowledge/reviews of my area, I knew I had to go in


And I was pleasantly surprised to find it growing on me. On the summer evening when I visited the wide open expanses are busy with people playing games. In the centre there's a path with some low benches where a gang of skateboarders (some of whom looked like they are actually office workers) were practising their moves. To add to the activity there's a whole mass of courts for various games along the road just south of Britania Leisure Centre. Bookable at the centre, and actually in good nick and in use.


Other features are nice wavy benches, tile edgings along some of the paths and the Dorothy Thurtle Memorial Garden. There's also some building work going on, to construct and open air performance space apparently.


There are still better parks in East London, but as a local park it's still obviously providing an amenity to the locals, and if you are in the city and feeling sporty, you might want to pop along.

Good place for having a kick about in an otherwise urban area devoid of much green space. There really is nothing to yell about in regards to Shoreditch Park. It's spacious, but not charming enough to take a twilight stroll with a lover through.

It is a simple flat, green expanse of grass.

Lovely atmosphere, but watch out for dog waste and occasional smokers of illegal substances. Besides that it's quite a lovely park and great for large group activities!

Nice to have a big open space in the middle of the surrounding concete/bricks but this park's completely exposed, so it's not particularly a relaxing place to chill with a paper or picnic (go down the road to Victoria Park for that).


Much better for playing sports. There's always football games going on and there's a big sports centre next door which has outdoor netball/basketball courts backing on to the park.

Shoreditch Park is well used by local people for running, walking and sports. Recent improvements have made a difference and more are planned.


The play area is the highlight of the park - a range of stylish and fun equipment is occupied by children from morning to night. Nearby is a beach volleyball pitch, sometimes used for its proper purpose and sometimes to make sandcastles. There are also tennis courts.


The park is not that pretty - despite some mature trees it still looks bare and slightly bleak. It was a bomb site and doesn't ever seem to have been properly landscaped. There aren't enough paths going in logical directions, and dog mess is a major problem.


The park is a much-needed green space in this built-up area of London - a shame it's only now being taken seriously.

I live right nearby but I've only occasionally walked through the park to get somewhere else. Its nice having a bit of green space around I guess but its a bit of a waste of space most of the time.

I as a local can only agree with you,its never changed for the better, it seems to be ignored by the council, till the shoreditch festival comes around,or some fairground company wants to use it, and yes dogs mess everywhere,