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LONDON'S SECRET GARDEN
Kensington Rooftop Gardens

Kensington Gardens lies at the western end of Hyde Park and area surrounded by many of London’s tourist hotels. The Bayswater area extends a few blocks north, Kensington and Notting Hill are just to the west and busy Glouster Road to the south. The London Underground tube Central Line makes several stops on Bayswater Road along the park’s northern edge. Bayswater Road turns into Oxford Street into the central heart of London. A strolling walk or jog (for the more energetic active type walk) takes you past the fountain monument dedicated to Princess Diana and the back garden entrance to the Kensington Palace. The back yards of the former Victorian mansions face the park allowing for the feeling of peeping into the secret lives of the old English upper crust.

Just a block from the southwest corner of the park on the rooftop of a former department store a world away from the hustle and bustle of modern London is a real “secret garden”. Created as a respite for busy shoppers on to top floor of a 1932 building known as the "Derry and Toms" after its two founders, the Kensington Roof Gardens are now a protected historic preservation site with three themed gardens of climbing vines, oaks and tropical palm trees, rose buses, fish streams, duck ponds and flamingos in water pools. Stone paths lead through the Spanish Garden, Tudor Garden and classic English style Woodland Garden, an acre and a half of lost wilderness bounded in the center of the city sprawl. Now redeveloped by Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines and the rest of the empire, the rooftop's Babylon restaurant is a popular spot for fine dining cuisine but perfect to enjoy a midday lunch "Al Fresco" with fresh fruit from the pear trees and berry bushes picked in season a few feet from your table, seeming miles away from the distant sound of the city blocked by the lush growth. The Rooftop Gardens also has a swanky members night club, but entrance is by guest list and the gardens are a popular spot for corporate parties and private events, during which they close to the public, so its a good idea to call ahead before just popping in.

Entrance to the Kensington Roof Gardens is through the lobby of the building at 99 Kensington High Street a few minutes walk from the tube stop at High Street Kensington from either the Circle and District Underground lines.© Bargain Travel Europe

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Kensington Rooftop Gardens
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See Also:

BEST WESTERN PHOENIX HOTEL
Bayswater near Hyde Park

TOWER OF LONDON
Mind Your Head and the Family Jewels

LONDON THRILLER – HITCHCOCK SLEPT HERE

TATTERSHALL CASTLE BAR & NIGHT CLUB
Paddlewheel Steamer Pub on the Thames Embankment

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