Islington is a borough of many faces. Its mish-mash of neighbourhoods each have their own distinct personality, from the urban bars and pubs of Angel to the chintzy antique stores of Camden Passage. Its properties have many guises, too – there are in-the-thick-of-it luxury apartments, and period townhouses sitting shoulder to shoulder on sleepy backstreets. Read on to discover more about the Islington area, as well as, quotes from residents living in some of the best places in Islington.
HomeViews Top Rated Development ranking takes into account the Star Rating and HomeViews Transparency Rating of every development in the area
Islington is less than 10 minutes from the capital’s centre, so it’s perfect for those who want to be close to the action, but still enjoy the peace and quiet associated with London’s outskirts. This is an area of wooded bicycle trails and sweeping parkland – Highbury Fields and Gillespie Park, in particular, come highly recommende.
The area’s serviced by multiple tube and train stations. From Angel, residents can get to Bank in just five minutes, and London Bridge in seven. Similarly, the Victoria line from Highbury & Islington can whisk commuters to Oxford Circus in seven minutes. While the Overground connects to Clapham Junction, Shoreditch and Stratford.
“Fantastic transport links in one of London’s most prestigious suburbs.” – A property professional on The Pad, N7
For top-notch dining, Islington occupants can stay put. These parts are packed with restaurants serving around-the-world cuisines. Try Upper Street for both cutesy independent eateries and well-known chain varieties, dishing up Italian, Japanese, Turkish and Mexican specialities. Clerkenwell’s Exmouth Market is brilliant for regional plates and fusion fare. And if you’re cooking at home? Trawl Islington Farmers’ Market for quality slabs of meat and fish, fresh herbs and veg and gorgeous cakes and pastries. Plus, stop by Grange Nursery for seasonal blooms for the table.
When a little retail therapy is on the cards, Islington comes up trumps. Its namesake high street is best for book shops, delis and clothes boutiques, while big brands can be found in the Angel and Nag’s Head shopping malls.
“Just a couple of blocks away from Canonbury Cross is Upper Street, a myriad of independent bars and pubs as well as high street stores and boutiques.” – A property professional on Canonbury Cross, N1
The borough’s big on culture, as well. Try the Almeida for world-class theatre, and the Pleasance for little-known comedy acts tipped for big things. There’s also the Islington Arts Factory – a community centre for inspiring classes like reggae aerobics, pottery and tai chi. The centre’s celebrated for its exhibitions, which showcase local artists’ sculptures, paintings and photography.
“Waterside strolls, lazy weekend brunches, cocktails and vintage shopping – it’s all on the doorstep.” – A property professional on Hoxton Press, N1
“A mish-mash of family-friendly cafés and glamorous restaurants.” – A property professional on Xchange Point, N7
Great building and location. Excellent staff. Professional and friendly. Great location in Islington.
Overall, we enjoy living here. The location is great in terms of restaurants, things to do and ability to get to other areas of London rather easily. The staff at the building are incredibly professional. The prices are high, but overall we are happy with our stay.
Very limited storage space available within our flat.
Better air circulation. It gets quite stuffy as windows are only one side of the flat.
The great thing about living here is that you are close to a lot of shops and a lot of transport links. You’re able to get to pretty much anywhere in London as you’re in the heart of the city. You have a range of shops that are expensive and cheap so you have a lot to choose from, the gym that is in the square is very expensive but you do have other alternatives that are abit cheaper around the area. The only bad thing I would say is that we don’t have a designated parking area which makes is a slight inconvenience for guests and people with cars
The development is lovely even though you’re in the heart of the city your still closed off and have some sort of privacy. There is a security team which make the area feel super safe and Islington square is very well kept and managed to a high standard.
The council tax value and the limitations that we have living here
The location is brilliant, with many restaurants, cafes, shops, etc. It is within short biking distance from the City, Holborn, Westminster, etc. and within walking distance from St Pancras. We are facing the inner courtyard so we hear absolutely no traffic noise or rowdy passers-by. The negative is that the address is hard to find. There is no street plate for #3 or #5, nor are they noted visibly on the maps. We missed a few deliveries because of this and I often encounter confused residents’ guests not knowing where to go.
Overall, the building is well designed and we particularly appreciate the outdoor terrace facing the inner courtyard and the good sound insulation between flats. However, the interior walls are not soundproof at all and the courtyard is somewhat echo-y. A big negative for us is the indoor bicycle and bin storage. The bin area is rather smelly and taking out or bringing in bicycles requires a lot of gymnastics – holding multiple doors open and lifting the bike upright in the lift; obviously, the bicycle storage was a space filler and an afterthought. The monthly service charge is really high but the property management has not been very efficient. For example, it took us 3 emails and 4 visits to the security gate to get access to the bicycle storage. On another occasion, they introduced a code to operate the lift but notified us a whole week after. On the plus side, we had a ceiling leak in our flat and they responded within 24 hours and fixed it within a week. So overall, not smooth but manageable.
We were quite excited about the inner courtyard but did not realize that the absence of traffic noise comes at the price of sights and sounds from neighbors.
The best features are the location, the amenities, and the lack of traffic and street noise. The building is new and modern and although it was not cheap, we still believe the flat was a good purchase value.
Amazing selection of restaurants and specialty shops. It’s amazing that there’s no noise from Upper Street.
The internal design of our Shared Ownership apartment is clean and minimal, a perfect blank canvas.
Externally the building is an interesting shade of purple.
The property management hasn’t been great – it’s hard to get in touch with them and when you do the response is lacking. We had to chase more than I’d expect for simple issues.
It would’ve been nice to know who has access to the communal garden. With 4 buildings having access it can get noisy with so many families and children running wild.
The location is absolutely amazing, lots of beautiful walks.
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