Hackney Downs
Hackney Downs opened as a public park in 1884 and is one of Hackney's major green spaces. The park is in the geographical heart of the borough and has a wide range of newly refurbished facilities. The park pavilion contains two team changing rooms and a community room which are available for hire.
The park holds a Green Flag award. The awards are given to the best green spaces in the country and are awarded each year to make sure the quality of the green space remains high.
Amenities
- Children's play area
- Dog-free area
- Ranger office
- Basketball courts
- Floodlit multi use games area
- Football pitch
- Team changing rooms
- Tennis courts (two flood lit)
- Athletics track (seasonal)
- Community room
Booking the facilities
For more information about booking the above facilities, please call 020 8986 7955 or see our sports pitches and courts page.
To view the layout of the park download Hackney Downs site map (PDF, 515KB).
Trees in Hackney Downs
The Tree Musketeers have produced a map of trees in Hackney Downs (JPG, 1MB). Each tree is categorised, with information about species and their benefit for wildlife also provided.
Events
Hackney Downs is licensed for plays, showing films, live music, recorded music and dance performances. Find out about holding events in parks.
Hackney Downs User Group
The user group at Hackney Downs has a great deal of passion and are always willing to bolster their ranks with new members who care about the future of the park.
Contact hackneydownsusergroup@gmail.com
Get Walking, Keep Walking
There is a pleasant walk which links Hackney Downs to a number of other green spaces. The walk, which takes under an hour, goes through Shacklewell, once a small village, to the Hackney Downs and highlights how much architecture has changed in three centuries. For more information see Get Walking, Keep Walking.
Hackney Downs meadow
The wildflower meadows of Hackney Downs will return in summer 2013.
The pictorial meadows which have been sown in the park will once again provide a swath of colour through the park. By mid summer the wild flowers will be in full bloom and provide a a rich habitat for insects including butterflies and bees.
The meadow also contributes to Hackney's draft biodiversity action plan, which seeks to create one hectare (10,000m2) of new meadow over the next five years - that's about the size of one and a half football pitches.
Hackney parks newsletter
If you are interested in being informed of what's happening in Hackney's parks, sign up to our monthly newsletter by emailing parks@hackney.gov.uk
Page updated: 12 Jun 2013
