Bow, London E3, has been “the next big thing” for several years, and has attracted its share of eminent residents, including the Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle. But it has somehow failed to achieve quite the status of neighbouring Victoria Park, a West London-type enclave in Hackney, or Bethnal Green, which has great transport and is close to Brick Lane, East London’s hippest quarter. The reason for Bow’s inability to achieve A-list village status is perhaps its proximity to the stark vistas of Olympic Park in Stratford. But this could yet become its key advantage.
What are the properties like?
Bow Road splits the area into two. The southern part, towards the Thames, is decidedly grittier but there are lots of new developments, such as Caspian Wharf near Devons Road on the Docklands Light Railway. Studios start at £169,950.
The principal attractions of the northern section are the townhouses in the conservation area between Mile End Road and Roman Road. Georgian Tredegar Square has the best houses, starting at £900,000 for four bedrooms and a garden; but these do not often come on to the market. Tredegar Square’s similarity to the squares of Notting Hill has been noted by film-makers; scenes from the BBC Two drama The Line of Beauty were shot there. Bow Quarter, a modern development in the northern section, is a popular conversion of the Bryant & May match factory, where female workers staged a strike in 1888 in a defining moment of labour relations history. One-bedroom flats start at £225,000.
Anywhere to go out?
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Roman Road has a market and pie-and-mash shops. The Morgan Arms, a pricey but fabulous gastropub on the corner of Morgan Street and Coburn Road, won an award for London’s pub of the year in 2005. The Palm Tree is a traditional pub where the clientele get up to sing cabaret-style (Bill Murray was won over by its charms when working in London on the animated film Fantastic Mr Fox). There are darts and quiz nights at the Coborn Arms, another East End local. Many residents head to Bethnal Green, Canary Wharf and Victoria Park, where Lauriston Road offers bars and restaurants such as the Fish House and the Empress of India.
Good transport links?
Probably Bow’s best asset. Bow Road Tube is on the District and Hammersmith and City lines; Bow Church DLR is near by. Mile End Tube is impeccably connected — it’s on three Tube lines and the trip to Bank on the Central Line takes seven minutes.
How about green spaces?
Victoria Park is huge, and charming, with the added bonus of a lake and music festivals in the summer. Regent’s Canal towpath is popular for walks and bike rides, to Canary Wharf in one direction and Broadway Market and Islington in the other.
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Are there good schools?
Clara Grant primary and Old Palace primary are rated as great by the Good Schools Guide. Morpeth school is a good co-ed in nearby Bethnal Green. City of London School for Boys and City of London School for Girls are both independent.
Do you feel safe?
Bow was once proper East End gangster territory (the notorious Kray twins owned a club here) and it still feels — and looks — dodgy in parts. But locals say that street crime is rare.
So is it a good investment?
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Richard Everitt, of Winkworth’s Bow office, says that the area could be the greatest beneficiary of the Olympics as it is “ideally positioned” between Stratford, Docklands and the City. “As soon as the economy recovers, I suspect house prices, and the gentrification of Bow, will quickly follow.”