Kensington***** The Royal Village – 156 Five-Star Reviews

High Street Kensington underground station, London (meet by the Wasabi restaurant at the end of the shopping arcade that links the station with the High Street))

Guided by Adam or David

Walk Times

Day	Walk Type	Start Time	End Time
Thursday	Weekly	2 pm	4 pm	Winter Summer	Reserve Online
Saturday	Weekly	2 pm	4 pm	Winter Summer	Reserve Online

Why go on the Kensington Walk?

1. Kensington specialises in hiding the best of itself
2. Kensington Palace
3. Kensington Gardens
4. Kensington Palace Gardens aka Millionaires’ Row
5. London’s finest Conservation Area
6. Byways and hidden lanes
7. Georgian townhouses
8. 1,000 years of history
9. No end of famous people, past and present
10. Grace and Favour Apartments aka The Old Stable Block
11. The Kensington eyrie – London’s nonpareil penthouse
12. Private art galleries
13. Kensington Square – much-loved, dignified, time-honoured (17th-century)
14. Hidden in plain sight – the High Street’s architectural prodigies and secrets*
15. London’s one-of-a-kind mews
16. Pub perfection
17. Street furniture that tells many a tale
18. The Victorian mortuary
19. Tiny, tucked-away specialist shops
20. A-List cafes and restaurants, international cuisine
21. St Mary Abbots – “the cathedral of parish churches”
22. Paved in gold – the UK’s wealthiest neighbourhood
23. Paved in literary gold – poets’ and novelists’ Kensington
24. Abundant trace evidence of Kensington’s past
25. A fine collection of Ascot hats
26. The Kensington airstrip
27. Where they interrogated Nazi war criminals
28. Well-connected guides – the locals know David and Adam
29. Location, location, location**
30. Japanese loos

*As Brynjulf put it in his review, “to look at buildings I have seen many times before without thinking much about them, and then being told to notice details and learning about art and history through these is really an eye-opener. The variety in the area is amazing…”

**Location, location, location because the Kensington cup runneth over with wonderful museums and galleries: Leighton House, Sambourne House, the Design Museum, the Royal College of Music Museum, the Royal Albert Hall, the Museum Quarter (the V & A, the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum), the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum, the Royal Geographical Society, etc. The fit is perfect to make a whole day of it: a museum visit, a spot of lunch, the Kensington Walk and, well, how does tea at the Royal Albert Hall sound? Or tea and in due course an evening concert (or the Cirque de Soleil, which is what’s on at the time of writing). The point being Kensington is perfect for making the best possible use of your time.  As Alain de Botton says, we should be seeking not so much to lengthen time as densify the time we have left. There’s no place better to do that than Kensington.

Ok, that’s your checklist. Now let’s put it rather more mellifluously.

“What will I see?”

“Try this for a shortlist: the most remarkable small literary house on the planet; London’s most palatial residential street; the ensemble of townhouses that are the final flowering of ‘the Restoration idiom’ (aka the signature London house for 220 years); a Victorian mortuary; Brigitte Bardot; Prince William’s apartment; four sub-villages; details on the High Street that nobody else sees (there’s a shocking amount of violence there if you know where to look); London’s most delightful cul de sac; centuries-old barracks…

“That’s a very short shortlist. There are getting on for 150 ‘point-outs’ on the walk. But the walk’s not just a magic lantern. In the immortal words of John Constable, “we see nothing until we understand it.” By walk’s end you’ll have seen Kensington because you’ll understand it. Understand what it is about Kensington – understand how and why it’s the wealthiest district in the country. Understand the skull beneath the skin. Understand that all-important house in Holland Street – the one the famous actor lives in – ‘if you understand this one house in Kensington you understand London.’”

Short read: London’s royal village.

Medium read: This one’s special. It’s rarely the first – or even the second or third walk people go on but when they do get round to taking it they often say it’s the one they liked the most. And no wonder, because“Royal Kensington is London at its best – picturesque, stimulating and full of character.”

Long read: Its parts are as delightful as London can provide: Europe’s most exclusive residential street; warmly handsome old Kensington Palace, home to the late Diana, Princess of Wales (and, latterly, Princes William and Harry); Kensington Gardens (all meadows, shaded walks, bowers and flower gardens, it might be the grounds of a stately home in some rural shire)…

London’s most attractive and unusual mews; its most delightful cul de sac; cobbled little soigné lanes, girt with pretty cottages and charming old shops; regal avenues, beautifully kept squares and a clutch of the world’s greatest museums.

Let alone Europe’s largest (and most astonishing) roof garden, the secluded townhouse of the greatest Londoner of the 20th-century, a matryoshka (Russian nesting dolls) of Kensington mini-neighbourhoods, grace and favour apartments, the most important centre outside Germany for the Nazi war trials, a “rising room,” an artistic tour de force made out of 41,300 matchsticks, the most exotically beautiful garden in London, ghostly figures behind a balustrade, the four great rivers of the Old Testament, the most remarkable small literary house on the planet, a secret eyrie and more history and colourful characters than you can shake a stick at.

Guided by David or Adam

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING

   

N.B. the above is just a sampling of what’s mostly served up on David’s walk – this being London Walks, Adam’s walk will be stamped with its owner’s character and interests.

Want more? Here’s David’s Podcast about how he sometimes starts the walk and a good bit about Kensington 1,000 Years Ago

For good measure, here’s David’s podcast about “a nondescript corner of Kensington where you have 500 years of Kensington in the palm of your hand.”

And here are David’s Where to Eat in Kensington recommendations.

KENSINGTON WALK – THE PRACTICALS

The Kensington Walk takes place at 2 pm on Thursdays* and 2 pm on Saturdays. The meeting point is High Street Kensington Tube. When you come up the steps and go through the ticket barrier at High Street Kensington Tube you’ll see, directly in front of you, a short shopping arcade that leads out to the High Street. At the far end – the pavement (sidewalk) end – of the shopping arcade, just before it debouches out onto the High Street, is a Wasabi restaurant. The meeting point is on the pavement (sidewalk) directly outside the shopping arcade, right by the Wasabi restaurant.

*To be on the safe side always check the date on the calendar. Or heed the top-level announcements that read: Click for dates this walk does not take place.

On Thursdays, the walk is guided by Adam or David. On Saturdays, it’s guided by David. N.B. the walk ends back at High Street Kensington tube – or a few minutes walk away. 

THE WEATHER

Here’s what you need to know…

LONDON WALKS REVIEWS

“If you want to know London better, if you want to learn some things about the world’s most cosmopolitan city that most people who spend their lives there never learn… I can think of no better investment than London Walks” The New York Times

“London’s best walking tours”  Travel & Leisure

“Even jaded Londoners find these London Walks a source of astonishing gems of information about the city in which they live.”  Daily Mail, Top London Treats

“Kensington walk – a total success, don’t miss it! Went on the Kensington walk today with David, a very experienced guide. How lucky were we? My husband and I were so impressed with not only his vast knowledge, use of language and literary references but his outstanding communication skills, wit and fervour. His enthusiasm was infectious and he brought the area to life-giving us an excellent insight into Kensington. We have done very many London walks and this was the best by far – do not miss it. In the words of Tina Turner it was ‘simply the best.’ Thank you David. This was our first outing after lockdown in Liverpool and it was not only a brilliant afternoon of learning but so enjoyable.” Geraldine M., May 2021, TripAdvisor

“Never have participated in but having seen and overheard walking tour guides over many years in the US, I was a bit sceptical that most of them were simply platforms for young aspiring actors to perform for small captive audiences. In the case of the London Walks I could not have been further from the truth. The stable of guides include barristers, physicians, professors, authors, historians and archaeologists–folks who actually know a bit about what they are talking about.” Rebecca D.

“we were lucky enough to have David to take us on a walk around Kensington. David was the first guide to take us on a walk and from that moment we were hooked”   Emberton75  Lancaster, United Kingdom

“this is a very informative and interesting route, the beautiful mews hidden in back streets, tiny alleys, grand addresses, nosey parkers would love this walk. you’re looking at architecture, history, famous people’s addresses. This particular company use actors and professional people to orate. I have done a different one each time I am in London. they are all equally impressive.”  Joan C.  Cardiff, United Kingdom

“We joined the Saturday afternoon Old Kensington walk, guided by Angela, on a windy, slightly dank day though, fortunately, the rain held off. We spent a considerable part of the walk laughing as Angela was such a witty, entertaining guide who delivered her anecdotes with perfect timing. I spent many years working in London and now regularly visit but the beautiful ‘old village’ part of Kensington (with its eye-wateringingly expensive houses) was unfamiliar to me and it was fascinating to learn so much about its history. I’ve already recommended this walk to family and friends and would happily join them and do it again next year. Thanks Angela.”  BaHertford  Hertford, United Kingdom

“My husband and I took part in the Old Kensington walk. Adam was our guide and he delighted us all with his humor, his knowledge and his obvious affection for the city. Questions are encouraged and duly answered. Photo ops abound. And quirky bits of history make Kensington come alive as the small neighborhood you’d long to be part of. As our schedule did not allow time for another tour, it will be first on our to-do list next time we land in London and it should be on your list as well. It is a lovely way to spend a couple of hours learning the history of one corner of London.”  Rebecca D. Hamilton, Virginia

“Never failed to be amazed at the entertainment on these walks. Of all the ones I have done, the uniform areas are 1 The walk leaders are brilliant. Knowledgeable, entertaining and loud enough to be heard by all. 2 Hidden gems of London hiding behind the rush you normally see when sightseeing, shopping or just going to work in London. 3 Great eating recommendations in places you would not normally find. The reason you should do one of these walks early on your London trip? You will want to do another! This time we did the Old Kensington walk. It did not sound as dramatic as some of the other walks, but it was breathtaking. From meeting up at High Street Kensington tube station and all the rush there, within minutes we were transported back 300 years into a quiet and peaceful area. Lots of history, interesting insights into how the area developed, how housing styles developed, famous people who lived there, secret gardens both at ground level and higher, stables conversations into shops and houses, even stables on the 1st floor. The church we went into was so quiet and the size of a cathedral, the history outside equally as interesting. At the end of the walk, we retraced our steps on our own to take it all in – but it needs the expert to bring out all the interesting details. We stopped at one of the recommended eating places mentioned by the guide – very good.”  FullNotGlum  St. Ives, United Kingdom

“We did the Kensington Walk on a wet Saturday with David – and he was great! He showed us the real variation of the area, introduced us to the lovely Japan House and told us some great facts in a lively manner interspersed with fascinating anecdotes about the people who lived in Kensington.
We are still thinking about TS Eliot walking around with green face makeup so he could look ill!” VerityGraceKirk, TripAdvisor, October 2019

“We enjoyed an absorbing time wandering around a small part of Kensington with our guide, David. His tour combined an eye for interesting detail with an analysis of social history, putting the “village” of Kensington within the wider London context. He also discusses contemporary local trends, including the increasing cultural diversity. We enjoyed a brief foray into Japan House to see some of the exquisite items on display, and were pleased to have pointed out some of the quirkier shops amongst the, mainly, chains.
It was well planned, good value at well over the advertised two hours, and the delivery was lively.” Sydbunyip, TripAdvisor, November 2019

LONDON WALKS ADDED VALUE

Be sure to ask Adam or David or Corin for a toothsome recommendation or two if you’re feeling peckish after the walk

Or click here to listen to David’s Where to Eat in Kensington podcast.

And here’s David’s podcast about the Conservation Area David explores on his Kensington Walk.

CODA

Not in London but fancy going on this walk? Try the Sights & Secrets of Kensington Virtual Tour.

Want more walks like this? Check out our other literary tours of London.

 

Don’t just take it from us…

These are a distillation of David’s and Adam’s 132 reviews –

For the full monte, scroll down…