Along New River Walk, Islington

[By James Hobbs.] I've gone back to university recently and my new cycle route down to Clerkenwell takes me across the New River Walk, which just happens to pass across the road where I live further north. It's a long, thin, quiet park with water, ducks and a winding path, and people chatting on their way home through the sunshine. It's the kind of place that is so easily overlooked even if you live in London, let alone if you only come as a tourist for a short time and you get dragged as if magnetically towards the big tourist sites.

My dissertation, which I'll be working on over the summer, will (since you ask) be on sketchbooks in galleries, libraries, archives and museums, and how accessible they are. Let me know if you're a regular visitor of sketchbook collections.

There's more of my work on Flickr.

Along New River Walk, Islington

The hidden river

Now that the weather's getting milder, it feels like time to get out of the studio and do some outdoor drawing. That's the impulse I felt yesterday. But where? Selecting a location to draw when you have so much choice is difficult. I ended up deciding to explore a bit of North London's history that I hadn't yet visited - the New River Path in Islington.

The New River, if you don't know it yet, is fascinating. A man-made river, opened 401 years ago to bring fresh water from Hertfordshire to the rapidly expanding city, it winds its course through north London  suburbs into the heart of Islington, from where it was piped into the city itself. Much of the river's course from Haringey inwards is now covered over and the river is piped below busy streets and housing estates. But there are stretches still running at the surface, and in Islington one such stretch has become a delightful local amenity, the New River Path. I had a pleasant afternoon sitting by the riverside, listening to ducks, answering schoolchildren's questions, and drawing...

The hidden river

Clissold Park, Stoke Newington

The park at Stoke Newington is worth a visit if you're near these parts. It had a makeover recently and is looking better than ever. This coming Sunday, 29 September, it is hosting events marking the anniversary of the opening of the New River, which passes through the park and was built to bring drinking water to the city from Hertfordshire 400 years ago. I like that it's still called the New River, despite its age and the fact it is no longer functioning as a water supply. Why bother changing it now?

Clissold Park, Stoke Newington