London Off The Beaten Path Tips by draguza

HOUSES IN NOTTING HILL

This neighbourhood, created in a late 19th century building boom, found its own unique flavour in the post war years, while the rest of London was operating a "no dogs, no blacks, no Irish" policy, local slum-lord Peter Rachman turned the area into a haven for dogs, blacks and Irish.
The 80 and 90s however saw many of these old-time inhabitants driven out as house prices were driven up by media twonks (myself included) who took over the area thanks to it's proximity to the West End, Riverside Studios and BBC TV Centre, not to mention the M40 out of town.

The area has it's fair share of glamour, Madonna and Guy Ritchie live here, Marc Bolan and Christine Keeler lived here and Jimmi Hendrix died here. My own arrival in May 1999 coincided with the release of the film "Notting Hill" which put the area firmly on the tourist map and sealed it's fate forever.

The CORONET CINEMA (Notting Hill)

Just outside of the tube station at number 103 is the far more ornate exterior of The Notting Hill Coronet built in 1898 by architect WG Sprague the Grade II listed former opera house now houses a two screen cinema. Screen one retains much of Sprague's original charm, with a large domed ceiling, a curved balcony and red velvet seating all awash with ornate gilt work. The recently added screen 2 is somewhat cramped and squalid by comparison and is best avoided. The Coronet tends to show more main stream releases, though screen 2 often plays host to some more obscure releases. This is also the last cinema in London to allow smoking

Palms in London!

Palm trees sway gently while passing typical streets in Notting Hill and give a totally tropical taste.

Not the sort of exotic vista you would normally expect on a visit to London.

Until recently, outdoor palm trees were restricted mainly to the south coast of England and balmy west coast of Scotland. But they are becoming an increasingly familiar sight in London

Neil's Yard

This place is situated just behind Covent Garden

In Neal’s Yard you will find various Cafe with so much color — of the route in London — once you are here you’ve stumbled upon an alive color palette in the London city.

Nice place for a quick salad for lunch or an afternoon big dessert (be careful of those!)…

Other Contact: Covent Garden area

Ten Bells Pub!

Ten Bells Pub, Whitechapel (Jack The Ripper Victims' Haunt):
The Pub is famous for its association with the victims of Jack the Ripper. The Ten Bells is largely unchanged since the late 18th century.
The Ten Bells still exists today and is world famous. It is patronised daily by visitors on Ripper walking tours. The pub contains a great deal of Ripper memorabilia. It also has some fine nineteenth century wall tiles and a fantastic Victorian freeze of Georgian weavers in Spitalfields.

Other Contact: Whitechapel area

Westminster Council

I worked for few months at the Westminster Council, based at Westminster Council House, Marylebone Road. The closest tube station is Baker Street

The Council is responsible for providing a service for the public to carry out their legal duties to register all births, deaths and still births within the City of Westminster area.

Other Contact: Opening Hours:Mon-Fri: 9.00am-4.

Phone: T: (020) 7641 1161

SPEAKERS CORNER

Speakers' Corner is an area where public speaking is allowed, and is located in the north-east corner of Hyde Park, City of Westminster, London.

Though Hyde Park Speakers' Corner is generally considered to be the paved area closest to Marble Arch, legally it extends as far as the Reform Tree, and also covers a large area of the adjacent parade ground.

Every Sunday afternoon at "Speakers Corner", adjacent to the Marble Arch, an often strangely assorted collection of speakers nightly demonstrate the merits of free speech and discussion. Sometimes these people are just crazy and insane, they speak non-sense and they are tragically funny, putting up a show for tourists. other times instead you can see they talk about serious social and political issues

Other Contact: Inside HYDE PARK

Holland Park

Holland Park is the most romantic of London's parks. The park opened in 1952, on what remained of the grounds of Holland House, the rest of the land had been sold off in the late-19th century for the construction of large houses and terraces to the north and west.

The woods and formal gardens of Holland Park surround the reconstructed Jacobean Holland House. Some of the formal gardens laid out around Holland House have survived from the early-19th century

The small, but lively, park is more wooded and intimate than the large royal parks of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park to the east. T

Features include the Kyoto Japanese Garden, laid out for the 1991 London Festival of Japan, rose gardens, woodland, wildlife pond and ecology centre. The park's abundant wildlife includes tame rabbits, squirrels and peacocks.

Other Contact: Holland Park Tube

West Hampstead

West Hampstead is deceiving, it clings on to Hampstead due to it geographical location, but where Kilburn ends and West Hampstead begins is a mystery to most. There's definitely a different crowd in West Hampstead to that of the posh heath.

West Hampstead is filled with bars, restaurants, bakeries and the odd boutique. You'll be able to have a reasonably good night out in West Hampstead, it won't be a mad one, but respectable enough to be able to talk about in the office the next day.

INNER SPACE-Covent Garden

This is an "OPen Center" called "Inner Space", which is situated in the heart of London (Covent Garden). It offers many activities for understanding the SELF through meditation and spiritual studies. All the courses are free of charge and are run by volounteers. I attended all of them and was very satisfied for my inner growth.

Other Contact: 36 Shorts Gardens London WC2H 9A

Phone: 020 7836 6688

Website: http://innerspace.org.uk/