Situated in a prime position close to London Docklands, located near the new site for the 2012 Olympics and is only 12 minutes from the City of London by C2C train, Barking itself is a diverse, lively multi cultural and cosmopolitan suburb with many restaurants and leisure amenities, as well as a developing arts scene with numerous creative activities, arts projects and theatres. .

In an article published in the Evening Standard, Tuesday, 24 January 2006 Barking came out as one of the safest areas in London. These figures were taken from data supplied by the Metropolitan Police. (Barking had 65 robberies in December 2005, Kensington and Chelsea had 130, Westminster had 185)

Full of bustle and activity, with a variety of shops from major retail chain stores to smaller specialist retailers: the Barking town centre is pedestrianised and has a specialist retail Mall, also on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the Town Centre comes alive with a traditional English outdoor market.

There are many restaurants, bars, coffee shops, wine bars and traditional English pubs, in the area offering a fantastic variety of cuisine from good olde english Fish and Chips to exotic flavours from the Far East.