Designer Lola Lely on Poplar’s Aberfeldy Street
(Picture: Matt Writtle)I was a bit of a nomad in the year before I moved to Poplar. The pandemic scuppered plans to move to Porto, and my partner and I couldn’t find what we wanted in Hackney where I grew up. I was also after a new studio space, and in the end that’s what I found first.
I don’t know why I’d never considered Poplar before. It’s got this amazing trading and publishing heritage – a diverse old mix of working docks, money and media. There’s a strong sense of community, and it doesn’t have that ‘them’ and ‘us’ vibe.
I live in the Spratt’s Complex, which used to be the biggest dog biscuit factory in the world.
Best eating and drinking
My Sunday ritual is the delicious yum cha at Royal China – if I can get a table. It’s a bit of an institution, so it’s always full of Chinese families and other local people. There are lots of restaurants in Canary Wharf if you’re after something a bit more sparkly.
Poplar is an area with lots of multi-generational families, and in the summer there are always celebrations happening in people’s gardens. Plenty of socialising happens in the pubs, too – my favourite is The Grapes by the river on Narrow Street, which is part-owned by Ian McKellen. It’s one of the oldest pubs in London and it’s got a lovely low-key, cosy vibe.
Where I work out
For a morning swim, it’s got to be Poplar Baths on the East India Dock Road, which is a really interesting 1930s building.
I do my stretching at Bartlett Park, and the occasional run on Limehouse Cut, which is a canal path that stretches from Bow to the Thames. It’s the area’s answer to the Regent’s Canal towpath, but it’s wide enough that joggers, cyclists and dog walkers don’t crash into each other. My route usually ends at E5 Poplar Bakehouse for coffee and good bread.
For a culture fix
Poplar’s pretty low-key, so unless you’ve lived here for a while you might think there’s not a lot going on.
My studio is in Poplar Works, which runs workshops on things like natural dyeing and foraging. There’s also Poplar Union for theatre, dance and open mic nights. We don’t have a cinema, but you can’t have it all. I’ll head over to the Genesis on Mile End Road.
To commune with nature
There are lots of little parks with different characters rather than one big one that everyone migrates to. I love the intimacy of the garden squares, like Tredegar Square towards Mile End.
My building has a beautifully natural garden tended by residents who got permission from the council to start planting on some land at the back of the station. I spent lots of time there in the summer.
Grocery shopping
Chrisp Street Market has been around for decades and is really famous in the area. You’ll pick up a huge knob of ginger and they’ll ask for less than a pound. People here are frugal and resourceful.
The Lions Express on Morris Road is my local corner shop, and I’ll go there to buy huge bunches of dill for my signature fish and rice dish as well as stocking up on milk or beers.
I’m Vietnamese, so I’ve got to shout out Alan’s Vietnamese Supermaket on East India Dock Road for condiments.
Getting around
I work about five minutes from home so I don’t take public transport every day, but if I do it’s usually the DLR, or the new Elizabeth Line from Canary Wharf. If I’m going somewhere like the Hayward Gallery, I’ll use the Thames Clippers.
Dream street
I love the tall merchant houses with all the original features on Narrow Street, but I’m really settled where I am. I’m usually always looking at other places and thinking ‘I’d love to live there’, so it’s a rare feeling.
Something you only see in Poplar…
Leading artists going into the AB Fine Art Foundry, which is part of the complex I live in. Tracey Emin was having something made there the other day. I can just about hear the clanking.
What’s the catch?
It doesn’t have the independent shops that I’m used to, so it’s harder to find pieces by artists and makers. That said, it’s important that an area evolves in an organic and authentic way.
In three words
Water, trees, undiscovered.
Schools
Culloden, Bygrove and Mayflower are the area’s Outstanding primary schools. St Paul’s Way Trust School is an Outstanding secondary towards Bow, while Langdon Park Community School is rated Good.
What it costs
Buying in Poplar
Average flat price: £435,220
Average house price: £579,400
Renting in Poplar
Average flat price, pcm: £2,030
Average house price, pcm: £2,550
