Having previously stopped off in Crawley and Wakefield, our Locality tour of the UK finds itself in London this week – east London to be precise – to take in the sights and tales of the marvellous district of Walthamstow.
And who better to give us a quick virtual tour of E17 than Slam City Skates and Yes Fam’s very own Jak Pietryga?
Have a casual saunter about below now, and enjoy some Stow-centric Jak related photos and clips from over the years whilst you’re at it…
Jak, switch heel deep in the 'Stow. Photo: Chris Johnson
Best skate spot - back in the day:
Walthamstow Town Hall.
Taan-awl by Jake Martinelli for Vague Mag.
Best skate spot - present day:
Would be the drop down ledges right outside Walthamstow Central station, but they’ve just been capped, so I’m going have to say the Town Hall still.
Filmed by Brendan Ryall
Best shop:
Local Family Supermarket on Forest Road.
Best local video/video part:
Yam Dat by Morph - Joe Buddle’s part, which unfortunately vanished from the internet a couple of years ago.
Best skate photo shot in Walthamstow:
Morph’s ollie over the Town Hall road gap, taken for our Guilty by Association article in Sidewalk back in 2007.
Photo: Styley
Best local - back in the day:
Alex Greaves.
Best local - present day:
Paco - check his cameo in Morph's Albion part (starts at 1:38).
Best skatepark:
Lloyds Park.
Best pub:
The Dog and Duck on Chingford Road. They do banging stone baked pizzas!
Best eatery:
Golden Fried Chicken down Wood St.
Best local band:
Battered Saucepan - my dad’s band.
Best local slang phrase:
"Yes Fam!"
Best local celebrity:
Terry Cole! This guy is next level! He came to our attention whilst Morph was filming for Yam Dat. I think he was filming a trick of Chewy (but it could’ve been someone else) at a spot down Hoe Street, and this Terry fella must have clocked Morph filming and thought to himself, “I want a bit of that”, then continued to try an convince Morph to film him breaking records. Turns out he believes himself to be a bit of a serial record breaker. They mostly involve him balancing things on his dench chin, but apparently Guinness acknowledge that he holds something like 200 different records. Last I heard of him, he was insisting that he had been given an MBE by The Queen, regardless of Buckingham Palace saying they haven’t even heard of him. What a lej!
Best local point of interest/tourist must see:
Definitely would have been the dog stadium, but that’s being converted into flats, so there’s pretty much f*ck all now.... maybe the market? It’s kind of noteworthy for being the longest market in Europe, but it’s definitely lost its charm through the years.
Walthamstow Stadium - photo: Josh Young.
Jak's Heritage pro board from The Harmony, paying homage to the Stadium.
Best thing about living in Walthamstow:
Definitely its location. Walthamstow is close enough to the city that it’s not a mission to get to, but far enough out that you can escape it all if needs be. Also, there are five train stations dotted around Walthamstow, so it doesn’t really matter where you live; there’s always going to be a station nearby.
Taking a different route at a classic 'Stow spot, Jak handles this hefty noseslide. Photo: Chris Johnson