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Tubewalker: The Tube, on Foot

Circle Line: Aldgate to Tower Hill and Gloucester Road to High Street Kensington

Kensington Square
Kensington Square

I've already walked most of the Circle line while walking other lines: I walked from Aldgate to Baker Street on the Metropolitan line, Edgware Road to Baker Street on the Hammersmith & City line, and High Street Kensington to Edgware Road and Gloucester Road to Tower Hill on the District line. That leaves just two little corners of track that are exclusively used by the Circle line: Aldgate to Tower Hill and Gloucester Road to High Street Kensington.

Aldgate to Tower Hill

The Gherkin
The Gherkin

Come to think of it, I should have walked this leg the other way round, having walked anti-clockwise round the Circle line on my Metropolitan and west-east District line walks... but I'm never that clear-headed first thing in the morning, so I went for the direction that I'd written down. Still, it doesn't really matter, because whichever way you do this walk, it's a good one. The theme of this leg is modern architecture, and it takes in two of the most famous examples of mould-breaking design to be found in any city in the world. One example, the Gherkin, dominates the London skyline, while the other, the Lloyd's Building, is all but hidden from view until you stumble on it, but both of them have played a major part in dragging London into the modern age.

The Lloyd's Building
The Lloyd's Building

Gloucester Road to High Street Kensington

Kynance Mews
Kynance Mews

The walk from Gloucester Road to High Street Kensington is – like all walks through Kensington – a catalogue of exclusive and extravagant residences. However, there is one thing that differentiates this walk from the others in Kensington, and I didn't even know it was there until I stumbled on it. Just off Launceston Place, stretching to the east and west, lies Kynance Mews, and after the imposing terraces of Kensington, these mews are a breath of fresh air. The western side is particularly beautiful, and it is obviously a source of great pride to those lucky enough to live in it, because the houses are all painted different colours, there are loads of luscious plants and shrubs growing in pots along the road (with some houses smothered in gorgeous greenery), and even though you're in the middle of a city, there's a definite back-country feel to the road. The walk is worth doing for these mews alone.

Christ Church
Christ Church