Discovering East London with the help of Tokyo Bikes & Ace Hotel

What better way to spend a free Friday morning in London than to take a cycle tokyobike around East London with design aficionado Duncan Riches. Camron PR kindly invited me to an intimate bike tour offered by Ace Hotel London in collaboration with tokyobike with a gentle meander down Regent’s Canal and on to Donna Wilson’s East London design studio for a quick show & tell. We met at the hotel, at Bulldog Edition, the hotels own café on the ground level of the hotel. Owned & operated by Ace the coffee brand is the East London based, Square Mile Coffee Roasters. Universal Design Studio are responsible for the design, and have incorporated the historic context of the area by way of open communal spaces, exposed brickwork and locally sourced produce. This is very much a locals café with local residents passing thought whilst the guests walk past to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.

We headed over to the tokyobike store to choose and collect our bikes and helmets, then headed straight to the quieter streets finding our way to the canal and parks beyond. With some architectural highlights along the way, we had a mixture of beautiful sunshine with some temperamental showers to remind us where we were.

Regent’s Canal

Victoria Park above

Above, John Frankland’s 85 tonne boulder in Shoreditch Park

Victoria Park Skatepark

Below is Keeling House designed by Sir Denys Lasdun. Once a council estate this is one of the first post-war modern council house blocks to be given Grade II listing in the early 90s.

On to Donna Wilson’s design and production studio

We landed back at Ace before lunchtime for a much needed smoothie from Lovage, the tiny smoothie bar connected to the hotel. Think farm-to-street, this take-away bar offers some of the healthiest smoothies in London. Served to you through a hatch the bar also serves it’s smoothies to the restaurant and hotel guests. You must try it if you’re passing….

To book yourself in on a bike tour give Tokyo Bikes or the Ace a call for more info…

With thanks to Duncan Riches, Camron PR & Ace

Photography ℅ Yu Fujiwara, Ace & LWSY