Overview

Haggerston Park is a really large park with lots of things to do inside. Football fields, tennis courts and even a BMX track are all available to book and use. There is a huge amount of open green space to enjoy, with dogs also welcome here. There were some benches available in certain areas with some being placed in shaded spots beneath trees. A small kiosk served hot and cold drinks, snacks and even ice cream which seemed popular on the hot day I visited! This kiosk also provided the keycode to gain access to the Changing Places Toilet. Hackney City Farm is also located within this park.

Transport & Parking

The closest station is Hoxton Overground Station which is just over 950 metres from the park. There are a number of bus stops located around the edge of the park. The buses that stop at these stops include: 26, 55, 394, N26, N55 There is a small car park, with two disabled spaces, which is reserved for those that have made a sports field booking.

Access

The pathways around this park were paved and flat for the most part. Some sections had inclines to move to a higher part of the park, but there weren’t many of these. The paths are all quite wide too. There were a large number of entrances and exits to the park that brought you out onto the surrounding roads. All of the entrances I saw were step-free, with no bumps or steps into the park. There was one gate that had barriers to slow down bikes, it meant they had to move in an S-shape between the barriers. All the others had large open entrances. There were lots of benches around the park, some placed on the tarmac and others placed on the grass. Some of those that had been placed on the grass were also up a small step, which stopped me from getting to them. The kiosk counter was quite high but as it was a small kiosk it didn’t feel too tricky to manage. There was some seating available by the kiosk too.

Toilets

There was a Changing Places Toilet in the centre of the park. It was part of a bank of toilets that also include non-accessible toilets and a smaller accessible toilet. The Changing Places toilet was opened via a keypad and opened outwards. In the handle on the outside of the door was an LED light which showed red or green to show if the toilet was locked from the inside. The door was quite heavy and was difficult to open. On the inside there was a horizontal grab rail mounted to assist with opening and closing the door from the inside. There was a wall-mounted, height-adjustable bench which had a safety rail on it and a paper roll dispenser that was stocked. The ceiling hoist ran the length of the toilet meaning it could reach every part of it. The toilet had grab rails on either side which could be raised and lowered as well as some static, wall-mounted grab rails. While there would have been space for both sides of the toilet to transfer, there was a lot more space for a left-side transfer. The privacy screen was mounted on one side to the wall by the door. The sink was height-adjustable and had a large basin with a manually operated tap (no automatic sensors). There was a wall-mounted soap dispenser and paper towel dispenser. There was a bench located by the door that provided somewhere to sit but also a place to put bags, coats or equipment. There were two emergency cords at each end of the toilet that were both hanging freely to the floor. A large mirror was mounted to the wall and provided a good view at most heights.

Staff

The staff at the kiosk were really helpful and friendly, and the one ranger I saw was also super helpful.

Photos