Eight Green Spaces Around Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush

At first glance, [1] Uxbridge Road seems no more than a busy enclave of Middle Eastern shops. It is famed for its traffic queues rather than for its aesthetic charm. […]

Lower Mall – A Riverside Wander Between Two Medieval Manors in Hammersmith

Hammersmith is West London’s major transport and commercial hub. It’s also home to over 150,000 “villagers”. And on top of that, hundreds of workers travel in daily, and many more […]

St John's Mission, Iffley Road

The Ancient Fields of Brackenbury Village, Hammersmith

It was the chance discovery of a map within the Bradmore Area conservation report that made me realise that the area once known as Bradmore Fields in medieval times, is […]

Hammersmith Broadway

Variety and Royalty Around Hammersmith Broadway

It may not sound particularly enticing to spend any part of a day hopping from one pedestrian island to another around a busy gyratory. Or the prospect of walking under […]

Shepherds Bush to Hammersmith

Two parallel roads that lead from Shepherds Bush to Hammersmith. But each like chalk and cheese. One is residential, with tall trees and large houses. The other, is littered with so many wonderful Grade II buildings. And in the heart of Hammersmith – a history that goes back to the late 17th century.

Shepherds Bush Green to Brook Green

Obscured by the [1] W12 Shopping Centre, tower blocks and electronic billboards around [2] Shepherds Bush Green, is a little hidden oasis. There is a lengthy official document about it, […]

Goldhawk Road to Ravenscourt Park

In Roman times, a highway ran all the way from Londinium to Silchester. It cut through a little hamlet called Shepherd’s Bush. Every Friday, Oliver Cromwell would travel along it […]

The 1908 Olympics Rings at White City

The Great White City at Shepherds Bush

In 2008, a glass and steel mega retail city was built just behind Shepherds Bush station. When [1] Westfield Shopping Centre expanded even further in 2018, it became Europe’s largest […]

Paths and Green on Shepherds Bush Green

Around the Green at Shepherds Bush

They say that shepherds did indeed watch over their flock in [1] Shepherds Bush, as they sheltered under the pruned hawthorn trees on its pastures before then continuing their journey […]

Notting Hill (Part Three) – From Pigsty to Posh

By the 1830s, there already existed a little hamlet in Notting Hill known as the “Potteries and Piggeries”. But it wasn’t quite designer earthenware and gourmet sausage shops as I’d […]