Clissold Park

When the sun peeps out in Stoke Newington, you won't catch locals diving into their hatchbacks and racing to the coast. Stroll down Church Street towards Green Lanes and you'll see them sprawled in Clissold Park, with Wayfarers or children clinging to their faces. Its compact 54 acres allow ample space for hipsters to hang out undisturbed, but it's big enough to get lost in. Clear-cut paths lead to Clissold's seven gates. Cyclists and joggers can also use the bark-strewn athletics track that circles the park. The park has a cute mini-zoo nestled in its centre, with rabbits, chickens, goats and deer. The butterfly tunnel and aviary next door aren't open as often as you'd like, but when they are, they're worth a look. For light refreshments, head to Clissold House's café, which serves fairly priced nibbles from paninis to Sunday roasts. Clissold Park opened a new wheels park, all-weather table tennis table and basketball area early in 2011 – the surrounding landscaped hillocks making a great viewing platform from where families crowd around to watch the stunts on sunny days. The new adventure playground was still a work in progress at the time of writing, but it looks exciting from the perimeter fence, with a vast sandpit sporting a shipwreck in its midst, a zip wire and a wide variety of climbing structures. From what we could see, there were only two toddler swings, which might cause some arguments.