Scenic London Walking Group

• We will meet outside the Design Museum main entrance (pictured), nearest tube High Street Kensington.
• We will explore the museum (free entry) for about 1 hour where we will see displays of contemporary design and innovation, from the everyday to the cutting edge.
• Then we'll have a stroll through Holland Park, including the Dutch Gardens and Kyoto Gardens with wonderful photo-ops.
• We will end our walk at Kensington High Street with an optional drink/lunch at the local pub.

What to bring:
Comfortable footwear
Water
Photo-taking gadgets and chargers
An umbrella just in case (it's London after all)

The walk is free for members who have subscribed for an annual membership. For other members the fee is £5 cash/card on arrival to contribute towards the organiser's meetup fees and costs.

The annual pass option is £15 payable by cash/card on the day. This will provide access to at least 40 walks per year (members are welcome to bring a guest to each event).

All walks are free for the NHS staff (also welcome to bring a guest).

'No Show' Policy: If the member replied 'yes' but did not attend the event, did not update the RSVP and did not inform the organiser on 3 occasions – this triggers an automatic removal from the group. That's once for events with a waiting list.

We will meet opposite Hampstead station, by the Clock Tower (pictured below).

• We will then make our way via Heath Street to see the Jack Straw's Castle. Not that Jack Straw -:), this site is named after the rebel leader Jack Straw, who led the Peasants' Revolt in 1381 and who is said to have taken refuge on the site until he was caught and executed. It is mentioned in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, where Professor Van Helsing and Doctor Jack Seward stop to dine, and also in Harold Pinter's play No Man's Land.
• We will then make our way to see the Golders Hill Park. It adjoins the West Heath part of Hampstead Heath. It is chiefly grassy parkland, but it also has a formal, beautifully tended, flower garden next to a duck pond with a small humpback bridge, a separate water garden, which leads onto a larger pond, and a small free zoo, recently renovated.
• We will then make our way to see the Pergola (pictured above). The Pergola is one of the hidden delights of Hampstead Heath, and is very popular for wedding pictures, as well as with film and photography students. The Hill Garden is a beautiful, landscaped garden which was the private garden of a now demolished manor house.
• We will carry on to see the Burgh House, which is run by a charitable trust formed by local residents. Burgh House is free to visit and art lovers can always come back to see the world's largest archive and collection of Helen Allingham's work.

This is where the walk ends. Optional drinks at the local pub after the walk. Hampstead station is 5mins away. For members who prefer the Overground – Hampstead Heath is 10 mins away.

What to bring:
Comfortable footwear
Water
Photo-taking gadgets and chargers
An umbrella just in case (it's London after all)

The walk is free for members who have subscribed for an annual membership. For other members the fee is £5 cash/card on arrival to contribute towards the organiser's Meetup fees and costs.

The annual pass option is £15 payable by cash/card on the day. This will provide access to at least 40 walks per year (members are welcome to bring a guest to each event).

All walks are free for the NHS staff (also welcome to bring a guest).

'No Show' Policy: If the member replied 'yes' but did not attend the event, did not update the RSVP and did not inform the organisers on 3 occasions – this triggers an automatic removal from the group. That's once for events with a waiting list.

• We will visit the City of London and 'discover' its hidden gardens.
• We will start with the Christ Church Greyfriars where the ruins of a Wren church destroyed during the Blitz have been developed into a garden laid out to reflect the floor plan of the original church.
• From there we will visit the Postman's Park, Saint Mary Aldermanbury Garden, Roman Fort Ruins, Guildhall, Churchyard of St John Zachary, St Alphage Gardens (pictured) and Barbican Water Gardens.
• We will finish our walk by the Reflections Pond opposite St Paul's.

Optional lunch/drinks at the end of the walk.

What to bring:
Comfortable footwear
Water
Photo-taking gadgets and chargers
An umbrella just in case (it's London after all)

The walk is free for members who have subscribed for an annual membership. For other members the fee is £5 cash/card on arrival to contribute towards the organiser's meetup fees and costs.

The annual pass option is £15 payable by cash or card on the day. This will provide access to at least 40 walks per year (members are welcome to bring a guest to each event).

All walks are free for the NHS staff (also welcome to bring a guest).

'No Show' Policy: If the member replied 'yes' but did not attend the event, did not update the RSVP and did not inform the organiser on 3 occasions – this triggers an automatic removal from the group. That's once for events with a waiting list.

• We will meet outside the Edgware Road tube station, Chapel Street exit from Circle & District lines (not the Edgware Road exit from Bakerloo line), by the statue of the geezer with ladders. If you end up in Edgware Road exit, no worries, just take the left from the exit and left again at M&S store and you will see the group.
• Then we will make our way via Paddington Basin where we will see the locations where 2016 Jason Bourne movie was filmed. Paddington Basin is an arm of the Grand Union canal and it was a terminal point for offloading cargo from the barges, mainly coal and building materials.
• Then via Sheldon Square to Little Venice, which is a junction of the Regent's canal and the Grand Union canal to see the IWA Canalway Cavalcade; a vibrant canal festival in the heart of London’s waterways. We will spend about 30mins at the festival (pictured above) and we will then proceed via Regent's canal towpath, which was opened in 1816 and starts in Limehouse. Members who attended the Tower Hill to Canary Wharf walk would have seen this point. We will be passing by the London Zoo and Primrose Hill.
• We will end our walk by the Ice Wharf (Wetherspoons), if we get lucky we might see the Camden Lock in operation. Optional drinks/lunch at the pub. People who would prefer the food from the market can always join us in later the pub.
• Wonderful photo-ops for people who would like to explore the Camden High Street and Camden Market.

What to bring:
Comfortable footwear
Water
Photo-taking gadgets and chargers
An umbrella just in case (it's London after all)

The walk is free for members who have subscribed for an annual membership. For other members the fee is £5 cash/card on arrival to contribute towards the organiser's meetup fees and costs.

The annual pass option is £15 payable by cash/card on the day. This will provide access to at least 40 walks per year (members are welcome to bring a guest to each event).

All walks are free for the NHS staff (also welcome to bring a guest).

'No Show' Policy: If the member replied 'yes' but did not attend the event, did not update the RSVP and did not inform the organisers on 3 occasions – this triggers an automatic removal from the group. That's once for events with a waiting list.

Trivium:
According to one story, the poet Robert Browning, who lived in the area coined the name. However, this was disputed by Lord Kinross in 1966 and by London Canals. Both assert that Lord Byron humorously coined the name.