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Walk London organises three weekends of walks a year. We went for the first time a year ago, and since then we have done one walk during the winter and spring walk weekends. It’s a great way of experiencing a part of London in a different light, be it a guided tour of an inner city area, or the surprising greenery of areas a bit further out.

For this walk weekend, we opted for an easy guided walk in Little Venice and surrounding Maida Vale, part of the Jubilee Greenway we started last winter. This walk was organised by London Walks (and sponsored by Transport for London, the funders for Walk London). We met with the guide at Warwick Avenue tube station, where we went together with our flatmate and a friend, and off we went!

During the walk, besides a history of the place, particular emphasis was put on pointing out the different people who’ve lived in the various houses, but more interestingly the different architectural styles and the reason for their being there. The guide did a very good job of interweaving these different aspects into a coherent story with something to interest everyone.

We also got to visit St Mary’s Church in Paddington Green. The guides had the key so we could enter and see the Georgian architecture from the inside too! However, what I liked more than the church were the paintings on the community centre opposite the church! The building has flat walls, but the paintings of statues in niches are so realistic that I only confirmed they are not actually 3D when I got level with the wall!

The walk then ended by walking along Regent’s Canal back to Little Venice’s Browning’s pool. I love walking along the canal, seeing the colourful narrowboats, and experiencing the serenity of a peaceful body of water. This is of course obvious with the number of times we take friends walking along the canals when they visit! The canals are especially gorgeous on a bright autumn day, when the trees are in their golden, brown and reddish colours. Definitely something not to miss in London!

We were then soon at the end of the walk though. A delightful way to spend an afternoon in London – so glad we didn’t laze it out!

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