Love Locks of East London

The lowdown

Following a tradition that swept cities from Paris to Rome, couples in east London began clipping engraved padlocks onto a railing and throwing away the key, a small symbol of a love meant to last. Over the years the locks have multiplied into a dense, colourful tangle of names, dates and messages.

Less famous than its continental cousins, which is part of its charm, it is free to see and a quietly romantic stop among the street art and markets of Shoreditch. A homemade, ever-growing monument to thousands of London love stories, hiding on an ordinary fence.