1. Hammersmith

Although I’d been to Hammersmith station before (route 9), I hadn’t been inside St Paul’s Church so I was lucky enough to find it open to visitors. It dates back to the 17th century, at a time when Hammersmith was merely a hamlet. People would have to travel some distance to pray and so Sir Nicholas Crispe funded the foundations of the church. It’s worth a visit today – the nave and windows are beautiful.

2. Design Museum

I started the bus journey at the bus station and alighted at Holland Park, next to the Design Museum. As I’d previously been to the Museum (bus 9), I went straight into the park, passing through the lovely Earl’s Court Gates. These Grade II listed gates were brought from Belgium by the 3^rd Lord Holland in 1836, then restored and extended to fit their current position in the early 20^th Century. Walking through the park, I came across the Ice House and the beautiful art on the exterior walls.

As the park is extensive and can be approached from both Kensington and Holland Park station ends, I decided to go no further than Holland House and its surroundings. There was plenty to see and explore, even though the House is now uninhabited. It was a good time of year to visit the gardens, with the Japanese style Kyoto and Fukishima and more traditional English style ones. As always, I was on the lookout for other items of interest and came across the statue of Man Walking by Sean Henry. And I was lucky enough to find a peacock!

3. High Street Kensington

From the Ice House, I walked to Jubilee Square – so named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee in 2022. For this summer only, there’s an art exhibition in the square by Luke Jerram called Gaia. With a huge hanging globe it provides the opportunity to see our planet, floating in three dimensions. 

4. Kensington Church Street

More walking, this time towards Kensington Palace and its surrounding streets. I stopped at Palace Green and was astounded at the sheer magnitude of each of the properties, some of which are embassies for different countries. As this bus route was pretty extensive, I decided to give the Kensington Palace and Gardens a miss today, knowing I’ll pass by on another bus route.

5. Westbourne Grove and

6. Porchester Terrace North

Next stop was Westbourne Grove, pretty much a retail street but with some residential properties still. Nearby is Porchester Terrace, where number 3-5 is seen as the first semi-detached house, with the pretense of looking like one big property. I came across a bust of George Skanderbeg and wondered why it was on the corner of Inverness Terrace and Porchester Gardens. On doing some research, I found out that he was an Albanian hero and the bust was erected on the 100th anniversary of Albanian independence.

7. Harley Street

I went back to the bus stop and took the 27 to Harley Street stop. I went inside St Marylebone Parish Church which is being renovated externally but welcomes visitors inside. The present church has been there for just over 200 years but its history goes far further back. It’s possible that there was a church near the site in King John’s reign and certainly Francis Bacon was married there in 1606 and Charles Dickens’ son was baptised in the church.

Round the corner from the church is Marylebone Gardens which currently has an art exhibition from pupils at a nearby school. All the paintings are of famous people who have some connection with Marylebone such as Charles Wesley, who lived locally and is buried there, Judy Garland, who was married in the church and J M W Turner who had lodgings and a studio nearby.

8. Mornington Crescent

I walked to the bus stop on Marylebone Road and got off the bus at Mornington Crescent. I went to see Harrington Square and Gardens, to see where such illustrious residents as Margery Oliphant, Alexander Graham Bell and Oliver Lodge lived. The gardens are open to the public but have suffered from a lack of rain this summer. I also passed the blue plaque for Walter Sickert at 6 Mornington Crescent.

9. Camden Market

Final stop was at the end of the line at Camden Market. I walked to the small but beautifully formed micro distillery for Half Hitch gin, managed by a very knowledgeable Chris. With some of the production taking place at the shop, I was able to taste two of the flavoured gins as well as getting a potted history of the gin manufacture and why it’s important in Camden. It’s definitely worth a detour if you’re passing through Camden! It was also a great ending to a long day on the number 27.