[1] As you come out of the Mashriq Challenge Resource Centre go right to turn right into Soho Avenue, past the famous Soho House (A). Read who lived here…
[2] Walk down, past St. Michael’s Church. Cross St. Michael’s Road at the pedestrian island. Go left, where you can read about the industrial history of Hockley on an information board. Now walk into Ashwin Road. You will soon see why it’s a cul-de-sac, but only to cars.
The two tunnels that take the wide footway under the railway lines raise the question ‘which came first?’ Was it the drive, wide enough for a horse and cart, or the railway lines above? Note the clever brickwork here, parts are built as a ‘twist’ not horizontal or vertical. The skilled workers who laid them reckoned everything would knit together better this way.
[3] The tunnels take us through to Grasmere Road, past houses untouched by war but modified by a generation of new residents. Go to the right to walk onto Soho Hill Road. Walk along this lively thoroughfare, past the big gurdawara, on the way back to the start.