Swallowed by central London, do you even pick out the village of Marylebone? Begin with the leafy courtyard at the side of the Parish Church overlooked by angels from its dome.
Then take a High Street saunter, past the pocket graveyard of an earlier church. From the mosaic of shopfronts, wriggle down narrow Marylebone Lane which breaks the street grid as it shadows the line of the river Tyburn. Don’t miss Pentons 1841 hardware store, the display at Rothe’s, a ‘four generations’ delicatessen.
Or the handsome pub corners. It gets narrower – St Christopher’s Place fashionable now, once an alley of Victorian poverty. Skip across the hiatus of Oxford St to work the passageways till you burst onto New Bond St with its centuries of high-end spend. Soon the great Tudor gatehouse of St James’s Palace is ahead.
Giving a nod to the monarch’s Clarence House home, emerge on the Mall which offers a full frontal of Buckingham Palace.
Round off with the lake and landscaping of St James’s Park before coming to rest next to the highly wrought portals of Queen Anne’s Gate.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING
Dorothy MacDonald –
We have left the countryside behind but what an interesting walk, the major streets of central London and the small hidden alleyways and squares all have fascinating stories to tell as do the Royal palaces, this was a great walk.
Martin Harborne –
Interesting walk through some little known back streets as well as more well known roads. Lots of detail from the guide. I think because of the distance to be covered the pace of the walk was a bit quick for an oldy like me.