Goats, sheep, chickens, a donkey, and some small animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs can be spotted at London’s Hackney City Farm. The farm is based at a site were many businesses used to run, ranging from an old local brewery to furniture makers and even a button manufacturer. Nowadays, the farm is well equipped with a pottery studio, the Bike Yard East repair shop, a hub for the organization Magnificent Revolution, meeting and training rooms, offices for an independent production company called Kindle, and an award-winning café called Frizzante that serving the farm’s produce and is decorated with found vintage furniture.
Within the vegetable patch area there is a cute straw bale house for keeping gardening tools . The building collects rainwater for the garden, taking advantage of a resource that is readily available in the British capital! For those who enjoy taking a nap or sitting outdoors, there is a straw bale seat under the shadow of a wooden boat’s end that smells gorgeous.
Magnificent Revolution also operates its reclaimed wood green-roofed hub within the city farm. The organization is focused around bikes and hosts events ranging from cycle-in cinema to DIY bike generator workshops.
Hackney City Farm’s animals are on rotation with a farm in nearby Kent, which means that the animals spend some time in the city and some time on the working farm in the country.
Whether you are taking your family for a countryside experience in the bustling capital or getting your dinner from the organic vegetable patch, remember that feeding time at Hackney City Farm is everyday at 4pm and everybody is welcome!
+ Hackney City Farm
Photo © Ana Lisa Alperovich for Inhabitat
