Notting Hill Tours
2 Simon Close, Portobello Road,
London
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Notting Hill 'Insider' tours guided by local resident & ex bbc reporter Richard Carruthers. Book via emailing richard@nottinghilltours.com, calling +44 (0)20 3287 7278 or tweeting @nottinghilltour
WALKING TOUR: Takes in all the major film locations, The Portobello Market, celebrity homes and musical landmarks. Your guide lives here and will entertain you with quirky tales of the neighbourhood history. Rendevous at the Coronet Cinema: 87 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JZ (close to the tube station). We visit a lovely garden before descending Portobello Road. Along the way you'll see antique stores and market stalls. Further down are the Travel bookstore film location, original shop and the 'blue door' to Hugh Grant's apartment. We'll parade along Westbourne Grove, favoured by Notting Hill's 'yummy mummies' for it's organic foodstores and designer boutiques. Get a taste of the famous carnival with Caribbean food on Talbot Road where we'll visit a French Art Deco store. Musical highlights include hangouts of punk band 'The Clash' and the studio Bob Marley, Oasis and Led Zeppelin recorded in. Other highlights include beautiful churches, graffiti artist Banksy's pub and a 2 Michelin star restaurant where diners were robbed during the London riots. We finish with model Claudia Schiffer and author George Orwell's houses.
CYCLING TOUR: This takes in all the walking tour places and a much wider area, from leafy Holland Park to the scenic Grand Union Canal. Rendevous at the Barclays Bike docking station on the corner of Portobello Road and Chepstow Villas W11 3DP (so you can hire a bike if you don't bring your own). We visit St John's Church at Notting Hill's highest point, then cycle to pretty Clarendon Cross where the 'beehive kiln' reveals the clay soil industry in an area once known as 'The Potteries and Piggeries'. After Portobello Market we venture onto Golborne Road, where Moroccan goods and food are traded. At the road's end is a brutal architectural masterpiece designed by architect Ernő Goldfinger, Ian Fleming's template for the villain in the Bond movie. Enough time for a sumptuous custard tart at one of the Portugese Cafes at the top of the street. We then bike along a section of the lusciously forested Grand Union Canal - the main 137 mile long transport route from London to Birmingham prior to the building of the railways. We finish by returning to shopping mecca Westbourne Grove where we leave the 'Boris' bikes at another Barclays docking station.
ABOUT YOUR GUIDE: Charming and witty Richard organises local concerts. Before the tour at 1pm on mondays you can hear a free classical recital at St Peter's Church, 90 Kensington Park Road, W11 2PN. Visit www.music-chamber.com to find out who is playing.
Contact him to reserve or book another day / time (minimum 5 people, discounts for more).The default tour is on foot unless you request cycling, for which you should consider bringing a helmet and have experience of biking on London roads. Your guide has Public Liability Insurance but is not responsible for accidents or injuries. He is not accredited or licensed by any official agency.
