Ruby and Joe's gorgeous East End canal apartment

Hello and welcome to our little urban oasis, a two storey, two bedroom apartment, overlooking Regents Canal in 'trendy' East London, and the wild meadows of Mile end Park.

Our apartment is part of a secure portered block of apartments, and we are on the first floor - not far from the lift. We are in Central London (Zone 2, Central line/district Line for those of you in the know), just off a typical zone two London Street (pubs, nail parlours, greasy cafes, kebab shops, vegetarian cafes, organic supermarket), and so when guests enter our flat they are often blown away the unexpected tranquil view.

Our spacious open plan lounge/diner leads out on to a large wide porch, that becomes our second lounge in the Summer. Perfect for lounging, people watching and canal boat spotting.

We have a compact and bijou separate kitchen with all the mod cons, and as we like to cook, it's very well equipped. In addition, there's a dishwasher and washing machine and tumble drier. Also downstairs, there's a very handy and colourfully decorated toilet (It's where some of Joe's eclectic treasures are stowed/displayed/hidden).


Heading upstairs there are two double bedrooms and a bathroom. The front bedroom is simply decorated as the best thing about it is the view. This room too, has a full length window for its fourth wall, and a balcony that overlooks the canal. This smaller balcony has a roof, so you can still chill out if there's a passing rain cloud. Having a cup of tea in bed, with the papers and the sun streaming in is one of our favourite things.

The other double bedroom has a slightly different decor to the rest of the house, as its our six month old daughters nursery! It has a very comfortable brand new double sofa bed and there's a cot, but of course, if you don't need it - we can stow it away for further space. ( We also have an air bed too).

The bathroom is in between the two rooms. and has a strong shower and bath.

We haven't swapped before, but we have a queue of friends who house sit for us when we are on holiday - they call it their London holiday home.

About the location

We are very centrally located, five minutes cab ride from Liverpool Street, The City and Canary wharf and Tower Bridge. We're also a stone's throw from the hipsterville areas of Shoreditch and Hackney, but thankfully far enough away to not be disturbed by "party types" (there are a lot of young families were we live). We are lucky enough to be surrounded by parkland too, which brings some wonderful wildlife to the area. So you could easily stroll out for some artisan bread, a flat white, spot some amazing graffiti and a heron and migrating geese at the same time.

The Canal tow path offers a variety of walks, bike rides ( we have 2 bikes too) and adventures. Five minutes walk down the canal tow path to one of London's biggest public parks,Victoria Park, a beautiful park with great facilities including a boating lake, children's adventure areas, skater parks and Summer Music festivals. Further along Regents Canal will take you to the very trendy Broadway Market and Columbia Road flower market.
The Canal tow path can also be followed to The Olympic Park with all its amazing facilities, to Mile End Park, Canary Wharf or indeed to Islington and beyond. We have an inflatable dingy for the adventurous guests!
The are great pubs and shops nearby. A plethora of small independent cafes, shops and galleries. Oh, and If shopping is your thing we are very close to trendy Spitalfields market and the huge Westfield Shopping Mall.
Foodies will love this part of London. There are pop up restaurants, fancy restaurants and cafes all over the place, and if you like Indian food we are close to Brick Lane - famous for it's many curry houses and 24 hour bagel cafes.

That is all just within our local vicinity, further afield It's very easy to get around, there are plenty of buses nearby and Bethnal Green and Mile End Tube are both a 10 min walk. You can be in Oxford Circus ( central London) in 20 minutes, so we are the perfect base if you want to explore London's many sights. We love our City, so we're very happy to provide you with suggestions and tips too.

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