National Grade:Leisurely Distance: 8mi /12.8km Leader: John L . Date: June 9th 2026
We assembled at Shepherds Bush station for John’s first walk as leader but where was John? Somebody mentioned that he has a tendency to cut it fine and sure enough he arrived 5 minutes before the appointed start time!
We walked along Lansdowne Road admiring the large houses and then through Kensington Park Gardens where we spotted lots of blue plaques dedicated to notable people though admittedly we had not heard of many of them.
Arriving in Portobello Road with its famous and historical street markets we could see that many shops are still trading on the fame of the Notting Hill film as well as the relatively more recent Paddington. However, what caused most excitement were not the souvenirs for sale but the traditional public toilets with the blue wrought iron railing and tiled floors! We were so pleased to see that these were still operational and also free.
A heavy thunder shower stopped us in our tracks as we sought shelter until the worst had passed.
As usual the brutalist architecture of the Trellick Tower divided opinion but this 31 storey building certainly makes an impressive landmark.
Next we joined the towpath of the Paddington branch of the Grand Union Canal for a very pleasant stroll along the canal, through the Paddington Basin and then to Paddington Gardens and the very pretty Norfolk Gardens where we stopped for lunch.
John helped the caffeine addicts look for a coffee shop even though he himself doesn’t drink tea or coffee. Eventually at Greg's suggestion we decided that McDonalds offered the best option.
After lunch we quickly made our way to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park where we admired the Italian Gardens, the birds on the Serpentine and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, not to mention the poshest ice cream van we had ever seen!
The walk ended at High St Kensington where John received a well deserved round of applause and promised us that he will lead another city walk soon.
Report by: Catherine Kelly