On Saturday, it was a day we didn’t have football for once, and the sun was shining the brightest and warmest it has done this year. So after getting some jobs done around the house, we decided that it was the perfect day to ramble round West London, finding things we’d never seen before.
We started off at Notting Hill Gate, where if you keep your eyes peeled to the ground, you may find some rather unusual manhole covers. Poetic ones, dedicated to the area’s great literary artists, like this one we found just before the coronet.
Talking of the Coronet, isn’t it the most beautiful building?! We had a good long stare at the exterior but it wasn’t open for us to have a look inside, one on the list for next time.
From there we walked through the beautiful streets of Notting Hill Gate, clearly where Richard Curtis got his inspiration for THAT Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts classic. We walked round to Holland Park and through it, such a sight on a bright sunny day! So many ridiculously small dogs!!
After spending a while basking in the beauty of another green space in the middle of London, we walked around to Leighton House Museum. It’s quite a pricing Museum if you don’t have a student card or an Art Pass, but it was totally free with our art passes. A small house, home to the artist Frederic Leighton, showcasing some of his artwork, and the extraordinary way his house was set up. The most spectacular part of the house was the Arab Hall, with floor to ceiling mosaics and Arabian designs, with a huge dome in the ceiling, with the most beautiful lamps. Now most of the house/Museum had a strict no photos policy, but we managed to push boundaries where there were no signs!
After dwelling on how much we would like to have our own house set up in the same way in the same place, we walked back towards Notting Hill, stopping off to have a peek at the Debenham house on the way. Yes, you’re correct. The house was designed in 1905 for the owner of the department store, and to top it all off it is a grade 1 listed building. Unfortunately for us it’s clearly being done up as they were big boards around it but we managed to pick at the corner it’s a very beautiful house too. You can see why it’s other name is Peacock House.
As you probably well know, Tim and I love our gelato. So who was going to stop us walking back through Holland Park in the roaring sunshine, passing an open ice cream parlour, stopping for a bowl of our favourite. Gelato Mio wasn’t bad if you like your creamy ice creams, with some amazing flavours and fresh taste, but for those looking for sorbets or something slightly more tart don’t stop here before summer.
We walked back up Holland Park Avenue, to Elgin Crescent, literally to look at the instagrammable road of pastel houses.
From there we got Portobello Road, and thought it would be rude not to go into The Distillery (the home of Portobello Gin) as we were right there. What a dream. A sherry cocktail for me, and a fun one for Tim, amazing service and brilliant surroundings, it was great for a late afternoon stop off!
We then realised that we hadn’t eaten (I’ve cream doesn’t count) and so headed to our favourites, Patty & Bun. We hadn’t tried this one before, and it was just as good as our Soho favourite. There’s just something about those thunder thighs we can’t ever get enough of. Oh and the staff were just so attentive and brilliant! Burgers and margaritas, an excellent way to end our date afternoon in sunny West London!
Where should we head to explore next? Let us know in the comments below!
