Bethnal Green's community newspaper

Bethnal Green LDN is a local magazine for Bethnal Green in East London. We bring you the best kept secrets about your neighbourhood from what's on to places to visit. Discover the best shops, restaurants, bars, coffee places and local attractions in Bethnal Green, Cambridge Heath Road, Columbia Flower Market, Brick Lane and Hackney Road. Be the first to know about things to do locally, from events and exhibitions to courses and workshops. And discover the rich culture and heritage of our local neighbourhood.

Local democracy

Image of the outside of the Virginia Primary School building, which is large and built with a mixture of brown and red bricks. There are black gates outside the building, with the words 'Virginia School' written on them in gold.
LocalLocal democracyNews

Virginia Primary School in Bethnal Green set to become an academy

Ruby Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter

Virginia Primary School is set to become an academy by the end of the month, which will make it the

A black and white cat stares directly at the camera, with Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium cafe behind it. The room is full of chairs and tables, the walls are covered with framed portraits and another cat wanders between the chairs.
LocalLocal economyNews

Clawing to stay: The fight to keep London’s first cat cafe in Bethnal Green open

Sophie Howarth
An anarchy symbol painted over a trans pride flag in Tower Hamlets.
LocalLocal democracyNewsQueer London

Tower Hamlets voices reaffirm trans solidarity in wake of Supreme Court ruling

Adam Khan
Weight lifters at BGWLC
LocalLocal democracyNews

London’s oldest weightlifting club ‘in limbo’ as second eviction extension granted

Ruby Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter
Ten people outside the high court, holding up a yellow Save Our Safer Streets sign
LocalLocal democracyNews

LTN campaigners will have case against Mayor reheard in Court of Appeal

BBC Local Democracy Reporter
The wreckage of an e-bike, looking charred and burnt.
LocalLocal democracyNews

‘E-bike fire’ in Bethnal Green triggers safety concerns 

BBC Local Democracy Reporter

Local culture

A brick building with pale stone front along a main road, a staircase leads to the door with a blue sign above reading 'Providence Row Housing Association'.
CultureHeritageLocal

Down and Out in Bethnal Green: George Orwell’s arrest on Mile End road confirmed in 1931 court reports

Eleanor Thomson

A court record uncovered by a UCL researcher confirms that George Orwell was arrested on Mile End Road in 1931

Vagina museum in Bethnal Green.
CultureLocalLocal democracyNewsThe arts

Vagina Museum saved from closure after crowdfunding reached a staggering £70k in four days

Sophie Howarth
Ronnie and Reggie, aka the Kray twins, standing together in suits with a newspaper background.
CultureLife & livingLife and livingLocalQueer London

An anti-hero of gay liberation: Ronnie Kray’s violent life outside the closet

Agatha Scaggiante
Vagina Museum team.
CultureThe arts

Vagina Musuem launches crowdfunder to secure its future following ‘insurmountable’ rent increase

Ray Bonsall
Female weightlifters standing in the Bethnal Green Weightlifting club.
CultureLife & livingLife and livingLocal

Meet the strongwomen of the Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club

Ruby Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter
A black and white portrait of saxophonist Lora Logic smiling
CultureLocalThe arts

Saxophonist Lora Logic made a name with punk band X-Ray Spex, then vanished from music for 40 years—now, she’s back.

Agatha Scaggiante

Out & About

Outside the Carpenters Arms on Cheshire Street, Bethnal Green
LocalOut & AboutPlaces to visit

Best things to do in Bethnal Green

Sophie Howarth

A centuries old bagel shop, an outrageous queer venue, and the Kray twin’s old haunts are just some of the

An image of York Hall building, which is large and white with red writing reading: YORK HALL. It has a sign hung at the front reading: Welcome to York Hall Leisure Centre
ActivitiesLocalOut & About

Best spas and saunas in London’s East End, home of the capital’s first ever public baths

Sophie Howarth
Street scene on Cambridge Heath Road in early May 2025, Bethnal Green, East London.
Eating & drinkingLocalOut & About

Is Cambridge Heath Road shaping up to be the new Hackney?

Agatha Scaggiante
A scene from Valkyries during Regent Opera's production of Wagner's Ring Cycle, at York Hall in Bethnal Green.
Going outLocalOut & About

Ringside tickets: Wagner’s Ring Cycle, a series of four epic operas, to be shown at York Hall boxing venue

Tabitha Stapely
Shopfront of Satan’s Whiskers bar after dark, with its orange neon sign above and graffitti covered shutters pulled down, on Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, East London
Eating & drinkingLocalOut & About

Satan’s Whiskers: Your neighbourhood cocktail bar is as devilishly good as ever

David Bard
Two tourists taking a photo of the Three Monkeys street art by Banksy, on the railway bridge across Brick Lane.
LocalOut & AboutPlaces to visit

The last remaining Banksy murals in the streets of Tower Hamlets

Imogen Garfinkel