A Quirky Weekend In East London

I’ve visited London loads in my time, but there is so much to do across the city centre that it’s taken me a while to get out to the ‘burbs. Whenever I visit, there’s never quite time to head out anywhere, because we prioritise an area we love like Shoreditch, or go to see things we should have seen years ago, or meet up with pals wherever’s convenient. I also normally visit London for a specific reason – this time it was to see Cabaret – and so the trips end up being centred around an event, and in turn, whichever area that event is in.

This time, I chose the weekend specifically for an open day at a very off-beat attraction way out in East London. As someone who is forever adding things to my list, I also had a couple of other places I wanted to visit that side of the city, and so the trip became less centred around “the event” and more about a theme: quirky things to do in East London!

I’m sure there are far more things this side of London (for one thing, the Viktor Wynd Curiosity Museum...) that I don’t even know about, but these are the three things we did:

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📸 Took a million photos at God’s Own Junkyard in Walthamstow
🚂 Rode a miniature railway around a beer garden in Wanstead
🏭 Went to visit a……………. er….. Victorian sewage pumping station. Do bear with me – it’s worth it!

God’s Own Junkyard, Walthamstow

I have had God’s Own Junkyard on my to-visit list for literal years. I mean it’s probably the most long-standing place on my London list that I still hadn’t made it to.

So on this trip, it was the first thing I said we should do when I discovered we’d actually have most of a day spare. And so began the quirky East London theme of the weekend, having already organised another East London activity.

I have to say, I was worried God’s Own Junkyard wouldn’t live up to the hype.

Not only did it live up to the hype, but it blew all my expectations! IT IS SO COOL! In fact, I thought it would be a “one and done” type of place, and instead I left feeling like I could come back over and over again.

Set in a warehouse in a little industrial enclave, it doesn’t exactly set the tone for an aesthetic bombshell. (It does, however, set the tone for how cool Walthamstow is – see more below.)

And yet this is an actual art gallery with a twist. The family who own it have been in the neon sign business for decades, making signs for films and TV as well as businesses since 1952. You can even buy and rent the signs there.

It means it’s far more than just an aesthetically pleasing venue set up for Instagram, because it’s run by actual artists. There is so much to look at.

There’s also an on-site café (called THE ROLLING SCONES!!) so we settled down in yet another fun area to enjoy cups of tea before another walk around. And to show how much there is to see, we had walked around twice already, and on our third loop, discovered that we had somehow missed Jesus with guns.

You can read more (and see loads more photos!) of God’s Own Junkyard in my previous post here!

We also met a lovely couple en route, who asked if we knew where it was. As we were all going the same way, we got chatting, and the guy asked if I’m Scottish, which must be a first as I don’t actually have a Scottish accent! Anyway, it turned out he had lived in Edinburgh for a few years – and in Leith, at that!! How bizarre that two strangers would meet in this random suburb of London who had both lived in Leith.

Before we leave Walthamstow all too quickly, I need to talk some more about it.

Because I LOVED Walthamstow.

It is, genuinely, the first place I have ever visited in London where I’ve thought, “I could live here”. We found ourselves walking down some really charming residential streets on the way to God’s Own Junkyard, and the same again walking back to a different station. We also discovered delightful Orford Road with a little high street.

I am definitely not done with Walthamstow. I’ll be back for God’s Own Junkyard, but I’ll stay for things like the supperclub – a dining experience on an old tube carriage (another thing that’s actually already on my list but is better saved for a special occasion). Or the “Blackhorse Beer Mile” which has cemented Walthamstow’s hipster status – weirdly, my friend’s band played at one of the pubs there the night before we went! There’s even a pumping station museum, which is funny given that’s what we were doing the next day.

But for now, we were off to our next stop, just a couple of stops down the line.

Read about another quirky weekend in London: Off-Beat London: A Quirky Weekend In The Capital

The Holly Tree, Wanstead

The second I saw a video of The Holly Tree pub, I knew I needed to go. When I looked up where it was, to be honest I thought I would probably never get there. Which meant that being a couple of stops away from it presented the PERFECT opportunity!

And so off we trotted to a pub in an area I hadn’t even heard of, for one reason and one reason only.

THERE’S A MINIATURE RAILWAY IN THE BEER GARDEN!!

I’m not gonna lie – we were more excited than most of the kids who went on it. In fact, I took a video of the first train ride we watched going around, and unfortunately I can’t post it because that would be weird, but I have never seen people looking so miserable on a wee train!! Three adults and three kids looking like they’d rather be anywhere else. We found it hilarious and in fact it probably contributed even more to us riding it with gusto. (See also: the time I visited the Leprechaun Museum in Dublin and we were accused of having more fun than the kids.)

The best part? It only costs £2 each to ride on it! Best £2 you’ll ever spend in London.

The beer garden itself is great, too! I’d booked a table just to be safe, which meant we had an indoor table reserved, but there was plenty of space outside and it was a nice day so we let them know we’d arrived and nabbed one of those instead. They also host things like craft nights, and it seems like a really popular local pub. Honestly, just a brilliant pub all around.

It’s also on a road called Dames Road, and as we walked up from the station, I spotted this sign.

This turned into a fun little hunt to find the roads named after dames, but unfortunately there weren’t many others! Missed a trick there. The only other notable one we found was Anna Neagle, who I’m afraid we hadn’t even heard of.

On the way back into London city centre proper, we passed by Stratford Junction, which appears to be some sort of public transport depot taken over by art – maybe worth investigation for next time! As an aside, Stratford is home to a pub called the Cart & Horses which is apparently the birthplace of Iron Maiden, and could even serve as a quick pit stop after fannying about on the miniature railway at The Holly Tree as it’s on the next stop on the Elizabeth Line!

(I would say a pub crawl of London’s most interesting pubs sounds like a great idea, but at London prices, maybe not…)

Read more: The Street Art Of Shoreditch, London

Visiting a Victorian pumping station

Every so often, an old sewage pumping station out in the middle of nowhere opens to the public for special Steaming Days. Every time I’ve visited London in recent years, I’ve checked in case my visit coincides with one of the open days, and of course it never does.

So this time, we had narrowed down some weekends to go and see Cabaret – and one of them happened to match with this! Perfect!

So I introduce you… to Crossness Pumping Station.

Believe me when I say WOW!!!

This place is incredible. Victorian engineering was on another level, but also their designs bursting with detail and colour. And volunteers have come together for years to restore this place to its former glory, so no wonder they want to show it off occasionally.

It’s an ongoing project but I actually really liked that some of it is still untouched, and I hope it stays that way, because seeing the original deterioration made me appreciate the restoration work even more.

The beam engine house is the star attraction, but there’s also a valve house storing smaller engines (with demonstrations of each), and an exhibition about the history of sewage in London. A delightful subject, but actually quite interesting given how far we’ve come with hygiene and public facilities.

They also have a little café serving tea for £1.50 which is the cheapest cup of tea I’ve had in about 20 years.

However, something that made this morning out even better: the transport to get there! It’s way out at the end of the Elizabeth Line, so even though it seems like a long way, it’s easy to get to. The nearest station is Abbey Wood, where you are picked up by a classic red Routemaster double decker bus! However, it drops you off quite a way from the pumping station itself.

This is because you can then ride a little railway up to the pumping station! Yes, we did two unique railways in one weekend! They even add flags if they find out people are visiting from around the world, which is a lovely touch.

Also: please can I draw your attention to the fact that the little train is called The Excrement Express!!

Find out more about the pumping station and upcoming open days here. It costs £22.50 to visit on the Steam Days, and you can book morning or afternoon. I definitely recommend it, and it’s one of the most unique things I’ve done in London! I’ll be writing more about it separately as well.

Overall, this was another fantastic weekend in London, visiting off-beat places instead of the usual haunts. I seem to discover more places on every visit, whether it’s the charming side streets of Richmond or just another funky pub in Shoreditch. This time it was great to get out to somewhere completely new, and discover that yes, East London is very much worth visiting!

Read more about London here:
⭐ Off-Beat London: A Quirky Weekend In The Capital
⭐ Is The Go City London Pass Worth It? I Got The Two Day Pass To Find Out
⭐ Seeking Out New Places In London & Accidentally Seeing All Of The Landmarks
⭐ Seeing Neon At God’s Own Junkyard In Walthamstow, London