Mile End Park

Mile End Park lies in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It stretches for 32 hectares along the Regent’s Canal, on land once scarred by wartime bombing. The Hertford Union Canal divides it from Victoria Park on the north side. A footbridge designed by Piers Gough crosses Mile End Road near the tube station. Before the park existed, sculptor Rachel Whiteread cast the inside of 193 Grove Road, a work that won her the Turner Prize in 1993. The park recalls the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, when 60,000 men from Essex camped here before meeting Richard II. Today it is divided into sections: a children’s play area, an ecology park with a lake and wind turbine, an arts park, a terraced garden, sports fields and the Mile End stadium. A climbing wall and an adventure park sit beside the canal. To the west, the Ragged School Museum occupies former warehouses once used by Dr Barnardo’s Ragged School. Visitors find a green bridge linking the park’s halves, a south park with playing pitches, and a leisure centre with courts, pools and fitness studios. The ecology building shows local wildlife, while Kirk’s Place offers quiet seating. Friends of Mile End Park organise walks and talks. The park has won awards for its design and environmental work.