Overview

Clissold Park in Stoke Newington is a lovely and very accessible local park. It opened in 1889. The park is on the flat with wide tarmacked paths and plenty of bench seating, which made it easy to get around. In the grounds is a cafe and accessible toilet. There is also a mini zoo with a deer and goat enclosures and aviary, tennis courts, playground and skatepark.

Transport & Parking

Several buses stop close to the park. From King's Cross you can take bus numbers 73 or 476 and exit at Stoke Newington Town Hall Bus Stop, which was how I travelled. I visited about 10am on a Saturday morning and the journey time was about 15 minutes. Alternatively buses 141, 341 and 393 travel along Green Lanes which is the park's western boundary. The nearest station is Stoke Newington on the London Overground, which is not step free but it does offer turn up and go assistance which does not have to be pre-booked.

Access

The park is enclosed but has several entrances. The gates were wide open when I visited. I didn't walk the entire park but what I did see was flat with wide tarmacked paths, spacious lawns and plenty of bench seating. The park is a spacious and has several different areas. Walking from the Town Hall the first entrance I came to was close to Clissold House, which is now a cafe. On the right, behind the house are a playground, skatepark and tennis courts, which I didn't see close up. From the house heading left you can follow the New River and then you can cross the bridge and into the mini zoo area. There is a deer enclosure with with fallow deer, a goat enclosure and an aviary. In this area is also an outdoor paddling pool, the area is currently closed as the pool is being replaced. There is also extensive lawns and two ponds (which I didn't visits). This was my first time visiting the park and the signage for the cafe and toilets was very poor. I just walked round and guessed and I'm still unsure about the layout of the cafe, as from the website there appears to be indoor seating and Clifford House has step free access, but I couldn't find an accessible entrance. One side of the house has a large, flat, level patio area with free standing tables and chairs. This is where I sat. There was a serving hatch on the right, see photo, where you could order your food and on the left was a hatch for collection, so I didn't go inside the building. This suited me as I am clinically vulnerable and I didn't particularly want to go inside. The windows of the hatches are at standing height. I was given a buzzer to let me know when my food was ready. The food is served in disposable containers.

Toilets

At one side of Clissold House are the public toilet. They are not clearly signed and I assumed they were the toilets and went over to them. There is step free access and the entrance door was open. The middle door was the accessible toilet and was locked by a Radar key. I had mixed feelings about the toilet. Despite the graffiti on one of the walls the toilet was clean and very spacious. There were grab rails by the toilet and sink. There is no emergency cord. However, what was very disappointing was that while there was a hoist the path of it was obstructed. In the way was a large, black metal box, which I think may have been a barbeque, a mop and bucket which was filled with water, a dustpan and brush, a sanitary waste disposal bin and another bin, plus a few brush handles sticking out from behind the black box. It looked like a junk yard. There was also a bucket with dirty soapy water under the sink. The area of the hoist should have been obstruction free. Also the dirty water in the buckets and cleaning materials are a hygiene risk.

Staff

I only had contact with staff at the café, and they were both very pleasant and one of the workers brought my food to my table.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

This is a lovely open space in North London, and I felt I was still able to socially distance. The staff at the café didn't wear masks and there was no hand sanitiser provided. However, as I was not going inside and collecting my food from a hatch and I ate at the tables outside , I felt covid safe. I was very impressed with the park. This was my first visit and I will return. However, signage could be much better regarding location of toilets and the accessible entrance to the café, as it was quite confusing. The accessible toilet is concerning on health and safety grounds. The hoist is obstructed, which would make it difficult and potentially dangerous to use. The cleaning materials and other items stored in the toilet are a hygiene hazard, what happened if someone didn't notice the bucket under the sink and knocked it over, wetting the floor and making it slippery? The lack of an emergency cord is also concerning given the size of the toilet it would be very difficult to if someone fell by the toilet to attract attention of other people going in and out of the toilet. Also, the accessible toilet looks half finished, it could be spacious enough to become a Changing Places toilet, but it would need the junk moved out, the hoist to be unobstructed and in good working order and a changing places height adjusted changing bench. As a minimum the accessible toilet needs to be made accessible and safe. Despite the limitations with the accessible toilet, it's well worth visiting. It's an attractive, spacious, well maintained park, with interesting sections, particularly the animals, and a café serving lovely food. Really apricated all the seating, tarmac paths and the flat layout, which made it easy for me to get around. Now I've discovered it I will return.

Photos