September in London
A Celebration of Green Spaces
[Up to 4 hours excluding lunch]
Autumn in London is one of the most beautiful times to visit the city. With the leaves changing a glorious colour and the weather turning a little chillier, you need no better excuse to get out into London’s fabulous Royal Parks for an invigorating and uplifting stroll, finishing off with a delicious roast dinner in one of London’s many fabulous pubs. This month’s itinerary takes you from Hyde Park to Holland Park via Kensington Gardens – get out there and enjoy!
Hyde Park
It really is true to say that the capital’s parks are the lungs of London. Not only do they provide a much-needed respite from the hustle and bustle of the city, but the tranquil spaces provide a micro-environment in and of themselves. With open wild spaces to manicured rose gardens, London’s eight royal parks are a green gem in the heart of the city. Start your park walk in the largest of the royal parks, Hyde Park. At 350 acres, it stretches from Marble Arch to Kensington Gardens and is nick-named ‘the people’s park.’ If you prefer more rural landscape you can forget you’re in a major metropolis as you walk through the meadows of the North Park. Alternatively you can follow ‘Rotten Row’ – a corruption of Route du Roi [the King’s route from Kensington Palace to Westminster] as it wends its way past the vast Serpentine Lake and beautifully manicured Rose Garden to bring you to the Serpentine Gallery
The Serpentine Gallery – based across two sites – is poised at the edges of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. Set in the park itself, it is one of London’s most exciting contemporary galleries and hosts three ground-breaking exhibitions each year. The shows display a range of fine art, sculpture, architecture, performance and community art. Check out their website here for a fully up to date programme schedule. Both sites, one of which was designed by the renowned Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, are free and open to the public year round.
The Serpentine Gallery
Holland Park
As you carry on walking through Kensington Gardens, you will see the magnificent Kensington Palace in the distance – you can always visit it in your own time [or wait for our royal palaces Inspiration Itinerary] but this month’s itinerary takes you past the front door and onto the lesser known Holland Park. Spread across 54 acres of what used to be the gardens of a Jacobean mansion, this treasure of a park is a Londoner’s delight. Amongst its gems is the hidden Japanese Garden. The Kyoto Garden was designed and built by an eminent Japanese Garden designer and his team. It was created to celebrate the Japan Festival in London in 1992. This was a co-operative project between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
Once you’ve walked all this way, why not head to The Abingdon Pub for lunch. This fabulous ‘local’s haunt’ tucked away in the back streets of Kensington, has been run by the same family for 25 years. Serving top quality, locally sourced delicious British cuisine, you will be treated to delights such as Islington saucisson or black pig pork chop and fries, all paired perfectly with hand picked wines by the in-house sommelier Amicia. Enjoy!
To book this itinerary with one of our expert guides, please get in touch