Rediscovering the City: gardens and lanes

At ING we find walking around our local area a great way to reconnect and find a bit calm during the busy day. As more of us return to the city, finding green spaces and ‘hidden gems’ where we can be outside and close to nature is important for our wellbeing.

ING x Open House London Rediscovering the City: gardens and lanes walking tour

Rediscovering the City: gardens and lanes walking tour map [PDF]
Follow itinerary on Google Maps

For this year’s Open House London 2020, ING produced a walking tour that led participants on a journey of discovery and contemplation, combining our knowledge of the area - having found our home in the heart of Shoreditch some 20 years ago - with our passion for the built environment.

Rediscovering the City: Gardens and Lanes is a celebration of our natural and built environment. Weaving together the history and design of several urban ‘gardens’, the route is curated to challenge our perceptions of what a ‘garden’ is, by exploring how greenery has been integrated with the public realm with a view to opening discussion on how the city might continue to develop, with nature in mind.

Tour guides, Managing Director Leanne Tritton and Senior Account Manager Ben James, led a small socially distanced group from the ING offices through the back lanes of the city starting at Broadgate Circle, continuing to spots such as the Speed Gardens at the Barbican Estate, Salter’s Hall, Saint Mary Aldermanbury Gardens, One Fen Court Garden, before concluding the tour at Saint Dunstan in the East Church Garden. 

A huge thank you goes to all those who took part in our walking tour, and a special thanks to Tom Cave for his photography. You can use our map and guide to take yourself on a self-guided tour.

Images courtesy Tom Cave