Hackney residents are stepping up their knowledge of the borough’s history, trivia and social issues thanks to a local guide’s popular walking tours.
Simon Cole has lived in the borough for ten years and has been an educational tour director since 2007. He now runs tour company Hackney Tours, offering clients strolls around the borough which he says are centred around “curiosity and wonder,” encouraging walkers to look at the world around them with a questioning eye.
Hackney Tours is getting sedentary Londoners moving by hosting a number of historical walks across the borough. As well as discussions of local history, these walks also address issues within the community, such as gentrification in areas like Hackney Wick. The walks also focus on more global matters like sustainability and, most recently, International Women’s Day.
And while these tours are certainly thought-provoking, they’ve also had a positive impact on people’s mental health.
Mr Cole said: “People definitely get a buzz out of being out and about… there are many carers in Hackney and we don’t know what people might be going through. It could be the only social interaction someone gets that weekend.
“We also signpost people to other activities to make it a virtuous circle of wellbeing. On the last walk, someone indicated their mood was 1/5 when they arrived and then 5/5 at the end.”
The organisation has received funding from Hackney Council to put on a number of walks in the area and has also worked with Young Hackney to get children learning about the borough’s rich history.
This year, to highlight the incredible historical figures to have influenced the borough, Hackney Tours is collaborating with local artist Louisa Albani to bring the stories of these past figures to life. Tours will include details of the lives of poet William Blake and philosopher and women’s rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft.
Mary Wollstonecraft had strong ties to Hackney, having lived in Hoxton for some of her formative years, and opening a boarding school on Newington Green in 1784.
It is hoped that through these tours, people will learn a bit more about the world, past and present, that is right on their doorsteps.
Mr Cole said: “There’s a great tradition of reform coming out of this borough, from gender rights to religious toleration. There are some incredible stories of inspiring world-changers who pushed for reform and knowing this history gives you a better context – a big-picture view of how we got to here today.
“As climate change concern grows, sustainable travel is going to increasingly mean finding the buzz of travel closer to home. I’d encourage people to celebrate the wonder in our own backyard and to see how positive change can be achieved by ordinary people like us.”
