Higdal two

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

I enjoyed this route, it goes ‘behind the scenes’ away from the main roads, in a part of London developed about 200 years ago.
The path alongside the New River was closed for restoration but it was easy enough to follow along the streets.
It is a bit indirect and for anyone wanting to go ‘straight there’ it may be better to use Higdal Three.

I feel a little mean giving this only 3 stars as it is a perfectly pleasant walk with some interesting stretches such as the New River walk. It's just that I found it a little fiddly to follow in places as it seemed to go out of its way to walk through small patches of green. Nothing wrong with that of course, but there is a cost in terms of navigation, having to rely on the GPX/phone a little more than I really wanted. To me a perfect slow way is both quiet but also intuitive and reasonably direct so I can concentrate on my surroundings rather than on navigation.

I walked the route from Dalston to Highbury. It combines well with Higbury to Kings Cross allowing you to miss the trafficy bit around Highbury Corner. Navigation at the Dalston end is very straightforward with a direct line pretty much from Dalston to Essex road. A slightly fiddly navigation around St Pauls and Nightgale Park leads to the New River Walk. Perfectly safe and pleasant, but next time I'd probably just walk the simpler short distance up St Paul's Road and join the New River Path from there. Bits of the New River Path look too narrow and uneven to be suitable for a wheelchair, but there is a quiet road parallel to the green strip, which also serves for after dark when the walk is closed. Once crossed Canonbury Road you enter leafy affluent Islington before a final stretch parallel to Upper Street to Highbury corner and the tube.

I walked this route from Highbury to Dalston. It's perfectly pleasant, hitting many lovely parks and green spaces. My only beef is that there's SO many places where this route favours quiet streets or green spaces instead of directness. It's well plotted, totally navigable, pleasant, green, and safe. Definitely I'd recommend the route, I just couldn't stop thinking the whole time about how it could have been more direct.

I walked from Highbury to Dalston.
Highbury is busy and has cafes and coffee. Only one road to cross and you walk through Compton Terrace Gardens (no dogs, but the quiet terrace is parallel). Around the corner there is a small park, then further on along quiet roads is the entrance to the New River Walk, a lovely meander alongside the river. You pop out by The Marquess Pub and then back to the river, ducks and fish. You exit through a housing estate, skip through Nightingale Park then St Paul's open Space by the Church. The rest is residential pavement walking to Dalston's busy high street and the station.
A beautiful walk with lots of green spaces (only open from 8am to dusk).

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