Image by Helen Rawling
London’s Brick Lane area is the focus for a new Discovering Britain walk tracing 400 years of Britain’s Bengali community in the East End. Passing through cultural, historical, social and culinary sites, the walk explores the hidden geographies of the area now affectionately known as Banglatown.
The walk highlights the ways Bengalis have shaped Brick Lane, by looking at the area’s heritage and shining a light on ongoing changes. Brick Lane is an increasingly popular tourist hotspot and the route also touches on contemporary challenges the Bengali community now face, from gentrification and rising rents to how best to celebrate Bengali identities.
Caroline Millar, Discovering Britain Project Manager, said:
“We are delighted to launch this new walk focusing on the Bengali community in London’s East End. We hope it will encourage people from all backgrounds to discover more of Britain’s geography.”
The Banglatown walk has been produced in collaboration with the Swadhinata Trust, a London-based secular Bengali community group that works to promote Bengali history and heritage.
The walk is also available on the ViewRanger app.
See where else you can explore on the Discovering Britain website.