Depressed by the news? Hackney has the antidote. Hackney Tours offers a collection of tours distilling 10 years experience of exploring this exceptional and exciting borough (#HackneyDecade on social media). The walks join the dots between the famous Hackney radicals and reformers who pushed for a better world for hundreds of years and the dynamism of the contemporary movers and shakers making positive change and a happier Hackney.

See this new walk Hidden Hackney: Walking in Wonder with Champions and Changemakers.

Whether it’s literary-themed walks, Social Enterprise Borough Hackney, sustainability initiatives, mental health-enhancing food social entrepreneurs, access to the Arts or appreciation of Nature, these inspiring stories in Hackney can offer us ideas – or just make us more optimistic about the future. From climate change to social justice, there are great strides being made by fun folk who can dance to a mini-revolution.

Hear how we stand on the shoulders of world-changing giants, then discover the modern day changemakers who’re challenging the status quo and offering local solutions to global problems. How is Hackney tackling the UN Sustainable Development Goals?

Sign up to the mailing list here to be notified of new tours. They’ll be led by me, writer, guide and activist Simon Cole. As a member of 6heads, I’m a changemaker too and I can connect you to a great network of people who are all trying to make things a little better. YOU CAN BE ONE OF THEM TOO. There’ll still be other offbeat walks and talks, like Gothic tours of Abney Park cemetery and suchlike. Because ultimately, like the past and the present, it’s all connected: our creativity, our wellbeing – and our environment.