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Piccadilly Line: Hammersmith to King's Cross St Pancras

Bridgewater House
Bridgewater House

I wasn't expecting much from today, as last night the BBC weather site was showing a dark cloud and two rain drops, with the sun vainly trying to poke out from behind. In the event it was a gloriously sunny day, and the rain only kicked in as I reached St George's Gardens, just a few minutes from King's Cross... for which the technical term is, I believe, a result.

Barons Court to Earl's Court

The stucco terraces of Barons Court
The stucco terraces of Barons Court

I started the day with the short hop between Barons Court and Earl's Court, as I've already walked from Hammersmith to Barons Court and Earl's Court to South Kensington on the District line. I remember being impressed with the architecture of Barons Court when I last visited, and with the sun shining brightly in a pure blue sky, I fell in love with the area all over again.

The Empress State Building towering over Earl's Court Two
The Empress State Building towering over Earl's Court Two

South Kensington to Knightsbridge

The Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum

I have a soft spot for South Kensington, as I spent three happy years working at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is a short stroll up Exhibition Road from the Tube station (or you can take the tunnel under Exhibition Road, which also connects the station to the Natural History Museum and Science Museum). The V&A is the largest museum of decorative arts and design in the world, and although the museum was founded in 1852 and moved to the current location in 1857, the impressive façade along Cromwell Road is actually Edwardian, and was built in red brick and Portland stone between 1899 and 1909. The original Victorian building, which now forms the museum's Henry Cole wing, is a little further north along Exhibition Road.

Brompton Oratory
Brompton Oratory
Looking down Cheval Place towards Brompton Oratory
Looking down Cheval Place towards Brompton Oratory
Harrods
Harrods

Knightsbridge to Hyde Park Corner

The Sheraton Park Tower Hotel
The 1970s architecture of the Sheraton Park Tower Hotel

Turning south from the station into Seville Street is a bit of a shock, because standing there like an oversized hair roller is the bizarre tower of the Sheraton Park Tower Hotel. Designed by Richard Seifert, who also designed the Centrepoint tower and Tower 42, it was opened in 1973 and looks like it. I rather like groovy 1970s architecture, and even though the hotel comes as a bit of a surprise after the more traditional architecture of the museums and Harrods, I like surprises, and I think it holds up well after a quarter of a century.

Brian Epstein's house at 24 Chapel Street
Brian Epstein's house at 24 Chapel Street

Hyde Park Corner to Green Park

Apsley House
Apsley House

In the middle of the busy traffic of Hyde Park Corner is a small park that's home to Constitution Arch and a statue of the Duke of Wellington, among other attractions, but the best thing about it is the great view you get of the Lanesborough (which lives in the old St George's Hospital building, built between 1827 and 1844; the hospital is now down in Tooting, and the building is now a five-star hotel) and Apsley House (which is also known as Number One, London, as it was the first house passed by travellers once they'd passed the toll gates of Knightsbridge; it was also the former home of the Duke of Wellington).

The London Hilton on Park Lane Hotel
The London Hilton on Park Lane Hotel

Green Park to Piccadilly Circus

Blue Ball Yard
Blue Ball Yard

From Green Park to Piccadilly Circus, I followed an excellent walking route through St James's by the doyen of London walking, Andrew Duncan. His route, which can be found in his book Secret London, winds through the tiny passages and backstreets of St James's, and without his help I would never have discovered all the nooks and crannies that make this part of London so fascinating. The route is convoluted and turns back on itself a number of times, but it kicks off in fine style with the lovely Blue Ball Yard, a small cul-de-sac off St James's Street that's home to some stunning 1741 coach houses that are now part of the Stafford Hotel, and whose stables would have housed the horses of the most important people in the country. Apparently one of the cellars below the annexe is a restaurant, and another contains the hotel's 20,000 bottles of wine; perhaps some things don't change, after all.

Bridgewater House
Bridgewater House

Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square

The 19th-century Queen's House (right) and the Empire Theatre (left) on the north side of Leicester Square
The 19th-century Queen's House (right) and the Empire Theatre (left) on the north side of Leicester Square

Leicester Square is a short walk from Piccadilly Circus, past the impressive Baroque façade of the London Trocadero. If you thought the circus was busy, then you're in for a shock, as Leicester Square is tourism central... but despite the crowds, I thought it was particularly pleasant. I used to think Leicester Square was rather dingy and full of criminals, but either my memory is a bit hazy, or they've put a lot of effort into clearing things up in the 15 years since I last walked through here and actually bothered to look around me. The central square is smothered with bodies on a sunny day like this, and the cinemas and night-clubs aren't necessarily as attractive in the day as they are at night, but it feels like an entertainment centre, and that's the important thing.

Leicester Square to Covent Garden

Neal's Yard
Neal's Yard

The shortest distance between any two Tube stations is the paltry 0.161 miles between Leicester Square and Covent Garden, but this doesn't stop it being one of the most popular tourist hops on the network. The most direct route is along Long Acre, and it's worth heading this way to take in Stanfords, the best travel and map shop in London (in my humble opinion, anyway; it certainly beats Daunt Books, in which I can never find anything, despite that shop's lovely Edwardian surroundings). Stanfords started in 1852 as the only map seller in London, and the current building was custom built and opened in 1900; it's been modernised since, but it's still the only place to go for travel-related books, and I always pop in here before hitting the road.

Covent Garden to Holborn

Covent Garden market
Covent Garden market

Although it's in the opposite direction to Holborn, it's well worth having a wander round Covent Garden. Home to masses of tourists, street entertainers, shops and the old market, Covent Garden is effectively a tourist-friendly shopping precinct, but it manages to retain the atmosphere of old and doesn't feel remotely tacky. It's easy to see why people flock here, and even on a sunny day like this, with people absolutely everywhere, it's an entertaining place, and the market building in particular is a delight.

Freemasons' Hall
Freemasons' Hall

Holborn to Russell Square

Bloomsbury Square
Bloomsbury Square

Just north of Holborn is a small pedestrianised shopping street called Sicilian Avenue, which was designed by RJ Worley and opened in 1910. It's still got an Italian feel to it, with its restaurant tables and stone balustrades at each end, and it leads into Bloomsbury Square, which I first brushed against on my Central line walk from Shepherd's Bush to Liverpool Street. The pleasant garden in the middle of the square is open to the public and plenty of people were lounging away as I wandered through, though just as I arrived, the skies started to bruise and suddenly sunbathing didn't look like such a good option after all; that's probably why people started packing while glancing nervously at the sky, rather than it having anything to do with me...

The Hotel Russell
The Hotel Russell

Russell Square to King's Cross St Pancras

The Brunswick Centre
The Brunswick Centre

Opposite Russell Square station is an astounding piece of modern development that completely took me by surprise. The Brunswick Centre was designed by Patrick Hodgkinson in the mid-1960s, and was built between 1967 and 1972. The style is defiantly modernist, and like much of the architecture of the late 1960s, it was widely disliked and soon became a bit faded round the edges (the original building was never painted, as the Council, who had taken over the residential lease in order to use it for social housing, didn't have enough money to paint it). However, in 2002 a much-needed £22 million revamp was kicked off, including painting the blocks in the cream colour that the designers had originally intended, and it's now home to 560 flats, lots of shops and cafés, a Waitrose and the Renoir cinema.

St George's Gardens
St George's Gardens