An East London Oasis That Is West Ham Park

Like many parks in London, West Ham Park cuts across many area codes. Located in the heart of East London, it is near Plaistow, Stratford, Layton and, of course, West Ham. It’s a small-medium sized park, for London standards. A large park would be something like the Hyde Park, Hampsted Heath or Trent park.

Depending on which gate you exit the park from, you end up in a different kind of neighbourhood. I used to live right next to this park, on the more unpleasant side of things. My street was well known for drugs, hookers and gangsters. All the nice stuff. Which is why when I first moved into the area and discovered this park, I thought it was some kind of temporary installation in preparation for the Olympic Games. Sure enough, however, the Olympics came and went, and the park was still there, looking as good as ever.

It was a bit of an oasis in the area. For whatever reasons, none of the unsavoury folk ever went there. Either they were too high to care, or just never noticed it was there. Goodness knows. Sure, there was the odd drunk passed out on a bench now and again, but that was it.

I think one of the reasons the aforementioned gangsters, hookers and druggies never ventured, or at least loiter, in there park was the fact that it had rangers that lived on the ground. There are two houses on either side of the park that look like ranger residences - fully equipped with cameras. Dodgy street folk in East London do not like cameras.

There is also a horticultural society that’s always present in the park, keeping it nice and clean and taking care of the plants regularly. There are large greenhouses in the park in which the plants and flowers are cultivated year round. Even in winter, flowers can be seen blooming all over the park. It’s a strange sight to behold.

I remember being bewildered by the park on my first Winter in the area. ”What sorcery is this?!” I thought. That was before learning about the horticultural people and what they did. At least I thought that’s how they achieved the winter flowers. They grew them in the right conditions in the greenhouses, then transplanted them when they were ready.

I’m not a plant expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I did once visit there with a botanist friend of mine. I had to keep reminding her I didn’t speak Latin, with all the binomial nomenclature she was spewing at me. She was quite impressed with the variety of plants present in the park. The greenhouses were strictly private, so we could never access those.

Apart from going in there to get a break from all the madness in my area, I also did a lot of photography there, especially in Spring and early Summer. Yes there were always flowers there, but Springtime in West Ham Park is something else. There is a rose garden that really blooms and looks like something out of a movie. I’m sure the flowers are starting to bloom as I type this, but alas! Coronavirus!

Another awesome function it serves in the community is a place for sports and exercise. I guess that’s the same for most parks. It has paved and unpaved paths that are brilliant for running, skating or cycling. Many people can also be found exercising their dogs there. It’s got a half-decent playground for children, including a swimming pool area. That part gets really busy in Summer, as expected.

There is a large old school that appears to own some of the grounds. Some of the students can also be seen occasionally using the grounds for sporting activities like football. There is a local cricket team that plays there every Sunday, as well as a group of amateur footballers. You know, those ones that take themselves too seriously and wear the full professional football kit.

There are benches scattered around for picnics and events, but barbecues are not encouraged. Talking of which, in classic London style, many people that use the park leave a lot of rubbish behind despite there being adequate provision of bins. Every morning, however, the grounds are spotlessly clean with no garbage in sight. The team that takes care of the park always do a stellar job day in, day out.

What I remember most about this park, West Ham Park, is that one rainy Christmas Eve when I was the only human in the park, I took one of the best photographs I’ve ever taken. It was of a tree silhouetted by the sun as it emerged from behind the clouds. I took it using a film camera and black and white film, but even though I couldn’t see the photo I had just taken, I knew it was the best ever.

Londoners, what’s your favourite park in the city?

Peace & Love,

Adé