A bike is the perfect mode of transport to use when visiting many places in a group, as parking is not an issue. In fact, at our first destination we were able to cycle all the way round the row of light-coloured brick terraced houses to admire them from all sides. We agreed that Peter Barber’s Ordnance Road scheme offered a well-composed façade, but a few trees in front would have given residents some protection from noise and air pollution.
Some of the stops along the ride included:
- Enfield Lock House
- Peter Barber Housing, Sparkbrook Way
- Forty Hall
- Albany Park river restoration project
- Dujardin Mews housing
- Beavertown Brewery
- Angel Yard
- Bloqs
We’ve included a GPX file of the ride at the end of this article, so don’t forget to download that if you’d like to do the ride yourself one day!
The next row of terraced houses we visited, Dujardin Mews, was Enfield’s first social housing scheme commissioned in the last 40 years. It offered a shared-use surface road, which allowed children to play independently outside.
The highlight of the visit was Bloqs, a workshop where people can hire desks, workspace or machinery on a daily or weekly basis. The building has been adapted and enlarged from a former vehicle testing station, using material with a low carbon footprint. We were lucky to catch Tom Holbrook, director of 5th Studio, who gave us an insightful and informative guided tour, ending at the café at the front, which creates a welcoming atmosphere and enables people to network informally and share knowledge and ideas. Coffee and cake were tested by HCC/ECC and rated fine quality.
At our last destination, Angel Yard, Gabriel Wharkofsky of Ian Kattein Architects gave us a brief introduction to the transformation of garages into a row of small start-up business spaces around a lively, shared-access mews.
It was a long day, over contrasting terrains, starting out on protected cycle lanes along Enfield high street and returning along the tow path following the River Lea.
If you would like to try out the route for yourself, click the button below to download the GPX file. The file can be imported into a variety of websites and apps, including Strava, Google Maps and Beeline.
Need help understanding how GPX files work? Hopefully this helpful article by CyclingUK.org will shed some light.
