Welcome to Litsy!

A lot has changed since Towpath first rolled up its shutters 10 years ago on the Regent�s Canal in Hackney and everything but the toasted cheese sandwich was cooked from home across the bridge. And a lot hasn�t. It is still as much a social experiment as a unique and beloved eatery. What happens when seasonality means you close every year in November, because England�s cold, dark winters are simply inhospitable to hospitality from a little perch beside a shallow, manmade waterway that snakes through East London? What if you don�t offer takeaway coffees in the hopes that people will decide to stay awhile and watch the coots skittering across the water? If you don�t have a phone or a website, because you�d rather people just show up like (hungry) kids at a playground? Towpath is a collection of recipes, stories and photographs capturing the vibrant cafe�s food, community and place throughout the arc of its season � beginning just before the first breath of spring, through the dog days of summer and culminating � with fireworks! � before its painted shutters are rolled down again for winter.