Paddington to Tottenham Court Road - via Grand Union Canal, Notting Hill, Hyde Park & Soho
Rating: 3.9 / 5
Distance: 12 miles
I planned this route a while ago but finally got around to hiking this.
Starting at Paddington Station I visited an interesting bronze sculpture called the "The Wild Table of Love", which is just outside the station. The sculpture has a bunch of animals sitting around a table.
I then walked to the Grand Union Canal and headed towards Little Venice. I feel Little Venice is the nicest part of the Grand Union in London. I then carried along the canal for a mile so before heading down to Notting Hill. This was my first time going
to Notting Hill and thought there were some nice colourful properties and a lively sort of place. There were lots of people (it was a Sunday when I hiked this route).
After this I walked to Holland Park (there is a nice Japanese waterfall there). I would recommend the park. There also happened to be a heron sitting by a lake that I photographed.
I made my way through Kensington passing the Churchill Arms, a very picturesque pub! [Photographed below]. There were lots of Union Jack flags flying outside. I then walked into Kensington Gardens and saw Kensington Palace. Made my way along the lake at
Hyde Park and up through Speakers Corner, Marble Arch, Oxford Street, Mayfair, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, China Town & Soho!
I actually decided to walk to Euston Square after the hike as thought it would be easier to get home (only had to catch one train). However, the route from Tottenham Court Road to Euston Square was not very interesting so I've
shortened the walk on the website and it's probably better to have shorter routes when possible. From Paddington to Tottenham it is 12 miles. I want to recommend good routes and this was a good one. Probably would be more interesting if you haven't visited much of London before as
the route does visit some major well known touristy locations.