Quoth the Raven, Nevermore. Except now it’s
Evermore. Because yup, we’ve finally Lewis & Clark’d – well, Rachel’d* –
Stoke Newington. And yup, weird old Edgar Allen Poe is part of the act, part of
the magic lantern of weird and wired and wonderful Stokey. (His schooldays in
Stoke Newington backdropped and inspired The Pit and the Pendulum. And, yes,
that croaky stokey Raven.
So let’s head into that realscape – which is also a
dreamscape – of a very special London village.
(Poe proposes: “They who dream
by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by
night." Rachel disposes.) So what’s Rachel got for you? Well, were Stokey
a bridge hand you'd want to bid Seven No Trumps. Let’s play the hand. Item: the
only Elizabethan church in London. Item: the Victorian “castle” looming over
the skyline. Item: Barbara Windsor. Item: the New River. Item: the Stokey
Salmon Smokery. Item: the Salvation Army. Item: Amy Winehouse. Item: London’s
favourite neighbourhood park. Item: that headiest London mix of all: unspoiled
and trendy. Item: non-conformity. Item: standing like one thunder-struck
because of a footprint in the sand.
*Rachel created the walk; Rachel guides it.
To go on the Stokey – A Misty Village walk meet Rachel just outside exit 3 of Manor House Tube
A London Walk costs £10 – £8 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
