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Central Line: Shepherd's Bush to Liverpool Street

Ilchester Place
Ilchester Place

Blimey, my head is spinning. I might only have walked 11 miles today, but like all the other walks I've done across the centre of London, it took ages and I'm absolutely knackered. Walking through the City is like high-octane sightseeing; there's something stunning to see every few feet, and my camera is as exhausted as I am.

Shepherd's Bush to Holland Park

Shepherd's Bush station
Shepherd's Bush station

There is some controversy about whether Shepherd's Bush station should be closed, but closed it is, so I hopped on the replacement bus service from White City, before hopping off again when it became apparent that it's quicker to walk through Shepherd's Bush than to drive around it. It must be annoying to have to commute this way, particularly if you don't like walking, but it must be even more annoying when the London Paper reports things like this (from today's paper):

Hundreds of thousands of commuters have been hit by the Shepherd's Bush station closure while the ticket office is expanded and escalators replaced. But documents uncovered under the Freedom of Information Act show that maintenance company Metronet told Tube chiefs that the station could remain open.

The Peacock House
The Peacock House

Whatever the truth, it's chaos round the station, and it's a relief to cross the busy roundabout and turn into Addison Road, which is in stark contrast to the modern construction zone of Shepherd's Bush. The mid-19th century townhouses along the road are deeply impressive and the place palpably drips with money, and it's easy to see why Edina from Absolutely Fabulous proudly says she lives in Holland Park and gets deeply irritated when people point out that she actually lives in Shepherd's Bush; Holland Park is in a completely different league to Shepherd's Bush, and it's best summed up by the Peacock House at number eight, a highly distinctive mansion dating from 1906. Designed by Halsey Ricardo for Ernest Debenham (of Debenham's fame), it's smothered in green and blue tiles that reflect the sky above and the green below. Whether it is beautiful is debatable, but it is certainly striking, and striking architecture is what Holland Park does best.

The Kyoto Garden
The Kyoto Garden

Holland Park to Notting Hill Gate

Houses along Aubrey Walk
Houses along Aubrey Walk

Southeast of the station is Campden Hill, and yet again the architecture is jaw-dropping. Walking up Aubrey Road is an exercise in picturesque terraces, and at the top is Aubrey House, named after one of Kensington's medieval Lords of the Manor, Aubrey de Vere. The house isn't visible from the street (though you can see how grand it is from the gate at the top of the hill), and a plaque tells you that the house stands on the site of Kensington Wells, an early 18th century spa. The houses continue to be lovely all along Aubrey Walk, where St George's Church towers over a more modern development on the southern side of the road, which was built on top of reservoirs put here in the 19th century by the Grand Junction Water Company.

Notting Hill Gate to Queensway

The grey concrete block on Palace Gardens Terrace
The grey concrete block on Palace Gardens Terrace

I couldn't work out a more interesting route from Notting Hill Gate to Queensway than walking along the A40, and it's a fairly uninspiring walk after the stunning architecture of Holland Park. Still, there are some worthy buildings along here, not least those on Kensington Palace Gardens which joins the A40 about halfway between the two stations (I visited here back on my District line walk from Wimbledon to Edgware Road). There are some notable architectural blips, too, including a grey concrete block on the corner with Palace Gardens Terrace that couldn't be more of a contrast, but Notting Hill Gate is a busy shopping street and a popular thoroughfare, so I suppose you have to take the rough with the smooth.

Queensway to Lancaster Gate

The Elfin Oak
The Elfin Oak

Kensington Gardens – which together with Hyde Park to the east forms London's very own Central Park – is just south of Queensway station, and as I stepped through the gates, the heavens opened, gearing up for a long session that would last well into Oxford Street. It's a bit of a shame, as Hyde Park is a delight in the sun, but there is plenty of tree cover, and I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone by sheltering under a broad oak tree while wolfing down my lunch.

The cuddling bears near the Italian Gardens
The cuddling bears near the Italian Gardens

Lancaster Gate to Marble Arch

Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park
Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park

The section of Hyde Park along the east bank of the Long Water is considerably more overgrown than the Kensington Gardens side, and it makes for a refreshing change. There are good views back to the palace across the water, and it's a quiet and uncrowded wander to the Serpentine Bridge, which was built in the 1820s by Sir John Rennie. Over the bridge is the Magazine, a gunpowder store that was built in 1805 but which is now a parks office, and from there it's a pleasant walk along straight paths to the northeast corner of the park. On the way, the paths are lined with streetlights that still use gas, and even though I walked through in the middle of the day, they were burning brightly; the sky was pretty black by this point and I was grateful for the company, especially as it lent a certain otherworldly atmosphere to proceedings.

A path in Hyde Park with a lit gaslight
Hyde Park by gaslight
A tunnel under Marble Arch
Down staircase 4

Marble Arch to Bond Street

A mansion block in Mayfair
A mansion block in Mayfair

Oxford Street is chaos at the best of times, but a quick right turn into Park Street avoids the shoppers and reveals a landscape of deeply impressive townhouses. This is Mayfair, the district named after the fortnight-long May fair which was held in Shepherd Market from 1686 to 1764 (I'll be visiting Shepherd Market on my Piccadilly walk from South Kensington to King's Cross St Pancras), Mayfair is the most expensive property on the Monopoly board, and quite rightly so. Mainly developed between the mid-17th and mid-18th centuries, the buildings here are quite staggering, and the number of blue plaques demonstrates what an influential area it has been throughout British history. I spent a lot of time looking up at the amazingly intricate mansion blocks throughout the area, and my neck is still feeling the effects; it's worth the pain, though.

The statue of Eisenhower in Grosvenor Square
The statue of Eisenhower in Grosvenor Square – does anyone else think it's ever so slightly camp?

Bond Street to Oxford Circus

23 and 25 Brook Street
Hendrix lived on the left, Handel on the right

Turning right out of the station, and right again, takes you to South Molton Street, which was built over the Tyburn River, as it flows south through Mayfair to meet the Thames near Vauxhall Bridge. It's a pleasantly pedestrianised shopping street with plenty of cafés with outdoor seating (though they're a bit empty when it's raining), and it soon leads to Brook Street, a continuation of the road that runs along the northern edge of Grosvenor Square. It's at this point that two neighbouring blue plaques stand out: the first, at number 25, is for Georg Frideric Handel, who lived here from 1723 until his death in 1759 (it is now the Handel House Museum); the second, a celebration of another musical genius, is at number 23, where Jimi Hendrix lived from 1968 to 1969.

St George's Church
St George's Church

Oxford Circus to Tottenham Court Road

The Mock Tudor of Liberty
The Mock Tudor of Liberty

Turning out of the station and down Argyll Street, you pass the Palladium on your left; it's currently showing The Sound of Music, following on the hit TV talent show, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? – the theatre is owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who was a judge on the show. At the end of the road is the distinctive Mock Tudor of Liberty, which was founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty in 1875 to sell various ornaments, fabrics and art nouveau objects. The wood for the building, which sports Tudor design inside as well as out, came from the British naval ships the HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan.

Berwick Street
Berwick Street
Soho Square
Soho Square

Tottenham Court Road to Holborn

Bedford Square
Bedford Square

After the hectic bustle of Soho and Oxford Street, it's a relief to go past the Dominion Theatre (currently home to the hit Queen musical We Will Rock You), and then turn down Great Russell Street and north into Bedford Square. Built between 1775 and 1783, this is a wonderful example of a classic Georgian square, and it was the original site of the first British higher education establishment for women, Bedford College (which merged into Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, otherwise known as Royal Holloway). The central garden is private and locked gates keep the public at arm's length, but there's plenty of space around the outside of the oval-shaped lawn for the three impressive sculptures that are currently on display as part of the London Architecture Festival.

The British Museum
The British Museum

Holborn to Chancery Lane

The Great Hall and library at Lincoln's Inn
The Great Hall and library at Lincoln's Inn

Easily the most pleasant route from Holborn to Chancery Lane is via Lincoln's Inn, one of the four Inns of Court (I visited two of the others, Middle Temple and Inner Temple, on my District line walk from Victoria to Bow Road, and the fourth one, Gray's Inn, is just to the north of Chancery Lane station). I wasn't as bowled over by the Temple inns as I thought I would have been, but Lincoln's Inn is fantastic; there are far fewer cars here than are rammed into Middle and Inner Temple, and the combination of buildings from various periods works well.

Staples Inn
Staples Inn

Chancery Lane to St Paul's

The Fish Market at Smithfield
The Fish Market at Smithfield

I weaved about quite a bit as I left Chancery Lane, as there's a lot of interesting things to visit around here, but I have to say I was slightly worn out by this stage, so I did rather shoot through. Heading along High Holborn and past Holborn Circus, I turned up Charterhouse Street and into Farringdon Street to check out the old buildings of Smithfield Market. The Central Market is still going strong, and I visited it on my very first tubewalk, but the buildings at the western end of the market – the old Fish Market, the Red House and the General Market – are dilapidated and slowly mouldering away. The future of these buildings is unclear, though the Red House is now listed, as it's the earliest existing example of a purpose-built cold store, so that seems to be safe. A public enquiry into the future of the site was held at the start of this year, but it remains to be seen what will happen. They are fascinating buildings, despite the greenery growing out of the top, and I hope they survive in one form or another.

A statue near St Paul's Cathedral
A statue near St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's to Bank

St Mary-le-Bow Church
St Mary-le-Bow Church

It's a bit of a building site between St Paul's and Bank, as the New Change Buildings have been completely demolished and are currently being developed into a massive office complex, sitting right opposite St Paul's Cathedral. Until you reach Cheapside and St Mary-le-Bow Church, it's all drilling and rumbling trucks, but the church has a quiet little courtyard that you can reach by turning down a small passageway from Bread Street into Bow Church Yard. St Mary-le-Bow is famous because to be a true Cockney, you need to be born within the sound of the church's bells (Bow Bells, as they're known); the bells also appear in the myth of Dick Whittington, as the sound of the bells persuaded him to turn back to London from Highgate, after which he became mayor. The original church was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666, and the replacement was designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

Bank to Liverpool Street

Tower 42
Tower 42

The final stretch from Bank to Liverpool Street is short, which is rather welcome after this long day. Heading around the back of the Bank of England and past St Margaret Lothbury Church, you pass the old location of the Stock Exchange at 125 Old Broad Street before slipping between huge skyscrapers that are so close they seem to touch. Dominating the view to the front is the huge Tower 42, the tallest skyscraper in the City of London and the fifth tallest in London. It was the first skyscraper to be built in the City, and at the time it caused considerable controversy, breaking all previous building guidelines; these days, it's not considered that tall, though it's still an impressive sight as you walk underneath it on Old Broad Street.