Local artist Angry Dan writes about the inspiration behind his vibrant and colourful map of Walthamstow Marshes and Walthamstow Wetlands
What do you love the most about Walthamstow? The community? The market? The smug feeling when those ‘best places to live in London’ articles come out?
Regardless of what you decide, there’s a good chance that our surrounding nature, namely the Walthamstow Marshes, Wetlands, and Epping Forest, will feature in your top three. For our household, the Marshes have long been the go-to for a weekend stroll or the occasional mid-week stress-busting power walk.
When I arrived in Walthamstow in 2012, I soon discovered The Marshes, where I reconnected with something I’d seldom felt since childhood – the peace and freedom of the countryside.
Walk down Coppermill Lane, past the waterworks, under the power lines and the low bridge, then turn left through the kissing gates, and you’ll arrive at my favourite spot. Striding into the long grass, the treeline covers both the railway to your left and Tottenham to your right. If it wasn’t for the tip of Canary Wharf in the distance, you could be anywhere in England.
What I hope to convey in my artwork is the idea of Walthamstow Marshes as a place that feels almost entirely separate from the urban development that surrounds it. The Marshes is a place where nature has been allowed to remain, and where we arrive only as guests.
The illustration also contains seven of the more unique species that make our nature reserve such a special place. Water voles, grey herons, kingfishers, creeping marshwort, the Essex Skipper butterfly, the Peregrine Falcon, and a hedgehog all feature as a reminder of our responsibility to London’s diverse wildlife.
You’ll be able to secure a map from Dan at his pay-what-you-like exhibition at 1B Window Gallery in Coppermill Lane from Monday 1st – Sunday 7th December. If you can’t make the show, you can order one from his website
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