London (Fodor's 2012) - Fodor's [72]
Sunday, the Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens railings all along Bayswater Road are hung with dubious art, which may slow your progress.
This is also the day when the well-heeled locals are out in force, filling the pubs at lunchtime or hitting the parks with their kids if it’s sunny.
GETTING THERE
For Portobello Market and environs, the best Tube stops are Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park (Hammersmith and City lines); ask for directions when you emerge. The Notting Hill stop on the District, Circle, and Central lines enables you to walk the length of Portobello Road on a downhill gradient.
FEELING PECKISH?
There’s cult appeal to the super-value Churchill Thai Kitchen (119 Kensington Church St., Notting Hill | W8 7LN | 020/7792–1246) attached to a traditional English pub swamped in Winston Churchill memorabilia. With large portions of all dishes priced around £7, it’s a bargain for this part of town.
A haven for the health conscious, Planet Organic (42 Westbourne Grove | W2 5SH | 020/7727–2227) serves upscale vegetarian meals at nongourmet prices, with a wide selection of specials to take out.
SAFETY
At night, be wary of straying too far off the main streets, as it gets “edgier” toward Ladbroke Grove’s high-rise estates and surrounding areas. Notting Hill Carnival attracts massive crowds and revelers should be wary of crime.
A GOOD WALK
To gape at Notting Hill’s grandest houses, stroll over to Lansdowne Road, Lansdowne Crescent, and Lansdowne Square—two blocks west of Kensington Park Row.
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EXPLORING
Kensington Gardens.
More formal than neighboring Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens was first laid out as palace grounds for William III. He was attracted to the location for its clean air and tranquillity, and subsequently commissioned Sir Christopher Wren for the splendid Kensington Palace. To the north of the palace complex is the early-20th-century Sunken Garden. Nearby is George Frampton’s beloved 1912 Peter Pan, a bronze of the boy who lived on an island in the Serpentine and never grew up, and whose creator, J.M. Barrie, lived at 100 Bayswater Road, not 500 yards from here. The Round Pond is a magnet for model-boat enthusiasts and duck feeders. The fabulous Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground has specially designed structures and areas on the theme of Barrie’s Neverland. Just outside its bounds is Ivor Innes’s Elfin Oak, the remains of a tree carved with scores of tiny woodland creatures. One of the park’s most striking monuments is the Albert Memorial, a Victorian high-Gothic celebration of Prince Albert. Nearby, the Serpentine Gallery has not been afraid of courting controversy with its temporary exhibitions of challenging contemporary works. | Kensington | W2 2UH | 020/7298–2141 | www.royalparks.gov.uk | Daily 6 am–dusk | High Street Kensington, Lancaster Gate, Queensway, South Kensington.
Hyde Park.
Along with the smaller St. James’s and Green parks to the east, Hyde Park started as Henry VIII’s hunting grounds. Along its south side runs Rotten Row, once Henry’s royal path to the hunt—the name is a corruption of route du roi (route of the king). It’s still used by the Household Cavalry, who live at the Hyde Park Barracks—a high-rise and a low, ugly, red block—to the left. This is where the brigade that mounts the guard at Buckingham Palace resides, and you can see them leave to perform their duty, in full regalia, at about 10:30, or await the return of the guard about noon. Hyde Park is wonderful for strolling, watching the locals, or just relaxing by the Serpentine, the long body of water near its southern border. On the south side, by the 1930s Serpentine Lido, is the site of the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, which opened in 2003 and is a good spot to refuel at one of the cafés. On Sunday, Speakers’ Corner, in the park near Marble Arch, is an unmissable spectacle of vehement, sometimes comical, and always entertaining orators.
Hyde Park Riding Stables. Horses are available here for