2019
First walking guide
We published a hand-drawn map of the two districts, marking every independent shop, park bench and public house worth a detour.
Result: 1,200 copies distributed at local cafés and libraries.
From a single walking guide to a monthly publication — the milestones that shaped our neighbourhood coverage.
First walking guide
We published a hand-drawn map of the two districts, marking every independent shop, park bench and public house worth a detour.
Result: 1,200 copies distributed at local cafés and libraries.Monthly neighbourhood profiles begin
Readers asked for more than routes — they wanted the stories behind the streets. We started profiling one area each month, from the market square to the old railway cottages.
Result: 14 neighbourhood profiles published in the first year.Events calendar and trader interviews
We added a curated calendar for families, students and new residents, and began recording long-form interviews with traders who have worked the high streets for decades.
Result: 60+ community events listed each season.Weekly newsletter and seasonal guides
The free weekly newsletter now reaches readers across both districts, and our seasonal guides to parks, markets and gardens have become a fixture for new arrivals.
Result: 4,800 subscribers and counting.Alexandria & Arlington began in 2016 as a twelve-page photocopied pamphlet, folded by hand at a kitchen table on Poppy Mills. The first issue carried a single walking route, three trader interviews and a hand-drawn map of the high street. It sold out at two local cafés within a week.
What started as a side project grew into a monthly publication with a small editorial team, a weekly newsletter and a readership that spans both districts. Along the way we made deliberate choices about what we would and wouldn't cover, and those decisions shaped the publication you read today.
A single walking route from King Street to the canal, printed on a borrowed risograph. We interviewed four traders and sold 200 copies.
After two years of irregular issues, we committed to a monthly rhythm. This meant turning down paid advertising from chains to keep the editorial independent.
When print distribution stalled, we launched the weekly newsletter. It grew to 4,000 subscribers in the first year and became our primary way of reaching new residents.
We brought on a second editor to cover Arlington's parks and community gardens, doubling our coverage of green spaces and seasonal events.
We launched a curated calendar of community events, family activities and market days. It now lists over sixty listings each month, all verified by our team.
Alexandria & Arlington is an independent digital publication devoted to the everyday life, history and evolving character of two neighbouring urban districts. We are not a listings site or a council newsletter. We are a small editorial team of writers, photographers and local residents who believe that a place is best understood through its walkable high streets, its independent shops, its green spaces and the people who keep them alive.
Each month we publish neighbourhood profiles, practical walking routes, interviews with long-standing traders, seasonal guides to parks and markets, and a curated events calendar for families, students and new residents. Our tone is warm and observant, balancing practical usefulness with a genuine sense of place. We write for readers who want to feel more connected to where they live — whether they have been here for decades or arrived last week.
Our work is guided by a simple conviction: that local stories matter. The bookbinder who has repaired spines for forty years, the community garden that turned a derelict plot into a pollinator haven, the street that changes its character with each new season — these are the threads that make up the fabric of a neighbourhood. We document them carefully, without nostalgia and without hype.