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Books Survival Copyright LONDON’S SECRET WALKS Explore the City’s Hidden Places 3rd Edition Books Graeme Chesters Survival Copyright City Books • Bath • England First published 2012 Reprinted 2015 Second Edition 2017 Third Edition 2019 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or recorded by any means, without prior written permission from the publisher. Books Copyright © Survival Books 2012, 2017, 2019 Cover design: Herring Bone Design Cover photo: © Marcin Jucha (Adobe Stock) Maps © Jim Watson Survival City Books, c/o Survival Books Limited Office 169, 3 Edgar Buildings George Street, Bath BA1 2FJ, United Kingdom +44 (0)1305-266918 [email protected] Copyrightcitybooks.co, londons-secrets.com, survivalbooks.net British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-909282-99-5 Printed in China Acknowledgements pecial thanks are due to Peter Read for commissioning this book, S Robbi Forrester Atilgan for editing and additional research, Alex Browning and Susan Griffith for proof-reading, John Marshall for desktop publishing, David Gillingwater for the cover, and Jim Watson for the superb maps and – dare I forget – Louise, my long-suffering wife, for answering my computer queries and continuing with the pretence that writing is a proper job. Last, but not least, a special thank you to the many photographers – the unsung heroes – whose beautiful images add colour and bring London to life. Books Survival Copyright Editor’s Notes Please note the following regarding the walks in this book. ♦ Length: The length of walks are approximate, as is the time required to complete them – shown as a half or full day – particularly if you make a lot of stops (coffee, lunch, museums, shopping, etc.). You can, of course, terminate any walk at any point and combine a number of walks to make a longer walk – or alternatively, shorten a walk. ♦ Transport: All walks start and end near a tube or railway station and directions are provided to the nearest station at the end of each walk. (Buses aren’t usually listed as there are simply too many to include them all.) If you plan to drive, bear in mind that the nearest car park or on-road parking may be some distance from the start/finishBooks – and can be expensive. Also, walks don’t always return to the starting point. ♦ Maps: The maps aren’t drawn to scale but the length of walks is shown. Points of interest are numbered. Overall maps are included on pages 8-13 so that you can see the location of walks on a larger scale map of London. Survival ♦ Opening Hours: The opening hours of many sights and museums (etc.) are listed. Bear in mind that these are liable to change. Where opening times are erratic or not stated, a telephone number is included. Where there’s an entry fee, the fee for an adult is shown. There are usually (but not always) reduced fees for children, families and concessions, e.g. pensioners, students and the unemployed. If no fee is listed, then entry is usually Copyrightfree. ♦ Food & Drink: Recommended ‘pit stops’ have been included in all walks – shown in blue on maps and in the text. If you’re planning to stop at one of the pubs, restaurants or cafés listed, bear in mind that many serve lunch between say noon and 2.30pm and dinner from 6 or 7-10pm. Many pubs are also open in the mornings for coffee and breakfast. Some establishments don’t open at all in the evenings or at weekends (which is noted), particularly in the City of London. When not listed, pub/ restaurant opening times are the ‘standard’ times, e.g. noon-2.30pm and 6-11pm, although some are open all day (and may also serve food all day). Telephone numbers are shown when bookings are accepted or advisable, otherwise booking isn’t usually necessary (or even possible). Contents 1. ROMAN LONDON 15 2. ST PAUL’S & BARBICAN 29 3. OLD STREET & LIVERPOOL STREET 39 4. BLACKFRIARS & MANSION HOUSE 51 5. CANNON STREET TO THE TOWER 63 6. CLERKENWELL 75 7. SPITALFIELDS & WHITECHAPEL 87 8. BLOOMSBURY 99 9. CHARING CROSS & THE WEST END 113 10. SOHO & FITZROVIA Books125 11. BELGRAVIA & CHELSEA 139 12. HOLBORN 153 13. INNS OF COURT & FLEET STREET 165 14. ST JAMES’S Survival 179 15. MAYFAIR 191 16. REGENT’S PARK TO ST PANCRAS 203 17. HOLLAND PARK TO KENSINGTON 213 18. SOUTHWCopyrightARK 225 19. WESTMINSTER 239 20. LAMBETH 253 21. MAIDA VALE 265 22. ROYAL PARKS 273 23. NOTTING HILL 285 24. CHISWICK 295 25. BARNES & PUTNEY 305 INDEX 313 Books Survival Copyright The city at dusk Introduction alking makes a lot of sense in London, whether for pleasure, Wexercise or simply to get from A to B. Although the city has a comprehensive public transport system, it’s also one of the world’s most expensive and very crowded, with the result that walking is often the quickest and most enjoyable way to get around – at least in the centre – and it’s also free and healthy! Furthermore, London’s reputation for rain is largely unfounded – it actually enjoys lower annual rainfall than New York, Rome and Sydney (but take your brolly just in case!) – and it’s rarely too hot or cold to make walking uncomfortable. London has a somewhat haphazard street pattern (to put it mildly), the result of having grown organically over 2,000 years, rather than being planned logically like some modern cities. As a result many attractions are off the beaten track, away from the major thoroughfares and public transport hubs. This favours walking as the best way to explore them, as does the fact thatBooks London is a visually interesting city with a wealth of stimulating sights between destinations; you don’t see a lot from the seat of a cab or bus and nothing at all when cocooned in a tube train! The starting point for this book was Samuel Johnson’s advice to his friend Boswell in the 18th century, on the occasion of the latter’s arrival in London: “survey its innumerableSurvival little lanes and courts.” By extension, wander off the beaten tourist track and you’ll find a world of fascinating sights, as you would expect in a city as large and old as London. My aim was to compile a list of these hidden attractions and construct walks around them – which resulted in the 25 walks contained in this book. Most walks can be done in half a day or less, depending, of course, onCopyright how fast you walk and how long you spend at the highlighted sights and diversions, particularly the pubs and restaurants. The walks don’t always follow the most logical route, but that’s deliberate and part of the enjoyment; the aim is to maximise the pleasure and provide a flavour of the area, rather than simply get from the start to finish as quickly as possible. Writing (and updating!) this book has been a fascinating, educational and enjoyable journey, which has had the added bonus of returning me to the weight I was when I got married (over 20 years ago). I hope you find the walks as engaging, rewarding and stomach- flattening as I have. Graeme Chesters January 2019 3. Old St & Liverpool St 6. Clerkenwell OLD STREET 8. Bloomsbury TOTTENHAM COURT RD 2. St Paul’s 7. Spitalfields BooksCLERKENWELL RD & Barbican ROAD HIGH HOLBORN LONDON WALL WHITECHAPEL Survival BISHOPGATE OXFORD STREET UPPER THAMES ST 4. Blackfriars RIVER & Mansion House Copyright 5. Cannon St THAMES Blackfriars Southwark Bridge & Fenchurch St Waterloo Bridge Bridge London Tower Bridge Bridge 1. Roman City London Walks 1-8 overall Walks 1-8 3. Old St & Liverpool St 6. Clerkenwell OLD STREET 8. Bloomsbury TOTTENHAM COURT RD 2. St Paul’s 7. Spitalfields Books CLERKENWELL RD & Barbican ROAD HIGH HOLBORN LONDON WALL WHITECHAPEL SurvivalBISHOPGATE OXFORD STREET UPPER THAMES ST 4. Blackfriars RIVER & Mansion House Copyright5. Cannon St THAMES Blackfriars Southwark Bridge & Fenchurch St Waterloo Bridge Bridge London Tower Bridge Bridge 1. Roman City London Walks 1-8 overall 16. Regent’s Park Regent’s Park EVERSHOLT STREET EUSTON ROAD MARYLEBONE RD 12. Holborn 10. Soho & Fitzrovia HOLBORN 15. Mayfair REGENT ST 13. Inns STREET of Court Books OXFORD STREET SHAFTESBURY AV FLEET BAYSWATER ROAD STRAND PARK LANE 14. St TRAFALGAR Blackfriars Hyde Park SQUARE Waterloo James’s Bridge Bridge WHITEHALL Survival PICCADILLY 9. Charing Cross St James’s Hyde Park Park KNIGHTSBRIDGE Corner Westminster Buckingham Palace Bridge SLOANE ST EATON SQ Lambeth Copyright Bridge THAMES KING’S ROAD Vauxhall Bridge Chelsea RIVER Albert Battersea Bridge Bridge Bridge London Walks 9-16 overall 11. Belgravia & Chelsea Walks 9-16 16. Regent’s Park Regent’s Park EVERSHOLT STREET EUSTON ROAD MARYLEBONE RD 12. Holborn 10. Soho & Fitzrovia HOLBORN 15. Mayfair REGENT ST 13. Inns STREET of Court OXFORD STREET SHAFTESBURY AV FLEET Books BAYSWATER ROAD STRAND PARK LANE 14. St TRAFALGAR Blackfriars Hyde Park SQUARE Waterloo James’s Bridge Bridge WHITEHALL PICCADILLY 9.Survival Charing Cross St James’s Hyde Park Park KNIGHTSBRIDGE Corner Westminster Buckingham Palace Bridge SLOANE ST EATON SQ Lambeth Copyright Bridge THAMES KING’S ROAD Vauxhall Bridge Chelsea RIVER Albert Battersea Bridge Bridge Bridge London Walks 9-16 overall 11. Belgravia & Chelsea CAMDEN TOWN ST JOHN’S WOOD Regent’s 21. Maida Vale Park MAIDA 23. Notting VALE Hill PADDINGTON MARYLEBONE NORTH KENSINGTON 22. Royal Parks NOTTING HILL CITY MAYFAIR Books Hyde Park SHEPHERD’S SOUTHWARK BUSH KENSINGTON 18. Southwark WESTMINSTER 24. Chiswick Survival LAMBETH 17.