Primmo

Eel Brook Common

Walham Green · 1.9 miles

Eel Brook Common is common land in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, close to Fulham Broadway, with its south-eastern boundary along New King's Road. According to the Fulham Society, the name actually is a derivative of 'hill brook common' - which relates to Musgrave Crescent, which is raised much higher than the surrounding land. It is believed that this is artificial and it probably was originally a Bronze Age mound - either a raised piece of ground to defend against attackers, or as a burial mound. When you leave Eel Brook Common from the north side, you go up a steep ramp - up onto Musgrave Crescent. It is within the Hammersmith and Fulham Conservation Area of Parsons Green.

Baden-Powell House

Queen's Gate · 2.5 miles

A notable conference and event venue occupies the former Baden-Powell House on the corner of Cromwell Road and Queen’s Gate in South Kensington, London. Built as a tribute to Lord Baden-Powell, founder of Scouting, the building originally combined a modern hostel with headquarters for The Scout Association, offering affordable accommodation for Scouts, Guides, their families and other visitors to the capital. Construction began after the site, a bomb-damaged property purchased in 1956, was assigned to architect Ralph Tubbs. The foundation stone was laid in 1959 by World Chief Guide Olave Baden-Powell, and Queen Elizabeth II opened the house in 1961. Over the following decades the premises served as the Scout Association’s headquarters, a hostel, and from the late 1980s an increasingly important conference centre. A substantial refurbishment in the mid-1990s upgraded rooms with private facilities, double glazing and air-conditioning, and expanded the event spaces. After the headquarters moved to Gilwell Park in 2001, the building continued to operate primarily as a hostel, at one point hosting around 30 000 overnight guests and serving 100 000 meals. In 2021 the property was sold to the independent school Mander Portman Woodward, which now runs it as a student boarding and conference facility. Access is via Queen’s Gate; wheelchair access is limited. The location benefits from its central London setting and proximity to public transport and local amenities.

Buckingham Palace

Victoria · 2.5 miles

A prominent landmark in the City of Westminster, Buckingham Palace stands opposite Victoria and is recorded by Historic England as a heritage-listed palace. Designed in stages by John Nash, Edward Blore and later Aston Webb, the building is recognised as the official residence and administrative headquarters of the United Kingdom’s monarch. Opening times are published on the palace’s listing, allowing visitors to plan a visit to the publicly accessible areas. The state rooms, which host official entertaining, are open each year for most of the summer and on selected days in winter and spring. Within the public programme, the balcony on the East Front provides a view of the traditional royal appearances, while the King’s Gallery, created after a wartime bomb destroyed the chapel, displays works from the Royal Collection. The surrounding garden, the largest private garden in London, forms part of the experience, and the interior retains early-19th-century scagliola panels, Belle Époque colour schemes and Chinese-regency furnishings transferred from other royal residences. Originally built as Buckingham House for the Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703, the core structure became a royal property when George III purchased it in 1761 for Queen Charlotte. Substantial enlargement by Nash and Blore in the early 1800s added three wings around a central courtyard, and the palace assumed its present role as the monarch’s London residence on Queen Victoria’s accession in June 1837. Subsequent extensions, including the East Front, were completed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, shaping the palace that continues to serve both ceremonial and administrative functions.

College Garden

Millbank · 2.5 miles

A private garden attached to Westminster Abbey provides a quiet green enclave within the capital. The site, listed as College Garden on OpenStreetMap and classified as a park near Millbank, welcomes visitors Monday to Friday between 10:00 and 16:00, with no admission charge. Entrance is separate from the abbey, allowing a brief visit without attending the main church. The garden traces its origins to the infirmary of the medieval monastery that occupied Thorney Island a thousand years ago, and it is claimed to be the oldest continuously cultivated garden in England. Although its original purpose of feeding monks has ceased, the layout retains a tranquil atmosphere. In 2010 a new herb garden was installed to echo the historic herbarium once tended by the monks. The north boundary abuts the great hall of Westminster School, originally the monks’ dormitory, while the east and south sides are defined by a medieval wall and a watergate that formerly opened onto the River Thames, now about 50 metres away beyond the House of Lords. Visitors can also explore the adjacent Little Cloister Garden, which contains a fountain within the cloisters, and St Catherine’s Garden situated among the ruins of the old monastic infirmary. Just outside the watergate, College Green frequently appears in televised political interviews, adding a contemporary cultural reference to the historic setting.

Little Dean's Yard

Millbank · 2.5 miles

A private, gated courtyard lies at the centre of Westminster School, positioned on the historic Thorney Island that now straddles the grounds of Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster. The yard is situated near Millbank and forms part of the former monastic precincts, linking the school’s interior with the surrounding ecclesiastical complex. To its east lies College Garden, recognised as England’s oldest cultivated garden and once the infirmary garden of the medieval monastery. The entrance to the school is marked by a stone arch attributed to Lord Burlington, replacing the monks’ former reredorter. A historic stone path traces the original route before the remainder of the area was paved, and a low stone tunnel runs beneath a row of monastic buildings to connect with Dean’s Yard. On the northern side stands Ashburnham House, a structure credited to Inigo Jones or his pupil John Webb, erected on the site of the medieval Prior’s House; its bricks still bear the imprints of schoolchildren’s coins left while waiting for the tuck-shop. A broad archway opens through the Dark Cloister toward the Abbey and the school gym. The southern side contains three Georgian houses that serve as Rigaud’s and Grant’s residences and the home of the Master of the Queen’s Scholars. Access is restricted to school members and authorised visitors, with no public admission facilities noted.

Flanders Fields Memorial Garden

Green Park · 2.5 miles

A tribute to the soldiers of the First World War stands beside the Guards Chapel and close to the statue of Harold Alexander at Wellington Barracks in central London. The memorial garden, listed as a monument on the OpenStreetMap database, lies within walking distance of Green Park and is freely accessible to the public. Designed by Belgian architect Piet Blanckaert, the layout centres on a circular grass bed that contains soil brought from Flanders, the region of many Western Front battles. The soil, gathered by schoolchildren from seventy cemeteries and battlefields, arrived in London after a naval hand-over aboard the Belgian frigate Louisa Marie and a subsequent transfer from HMS Belfast to the British Army. It was then conveyed through the city on the historic gun carriage of the King’s Troop before being placed in the garden. Native Flemish trees fringe the bed, and the surface bears an inscription of John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields”. A stone bench of Flemish bluestone provides a place to reflect, while the overall design has been described by the garden’s curator, Andrew Wallis, as a blend of Belgo-Anglo craftsmanship. The site was formally opened on 6 November 2014 by King Philippe of the Belgians and Queen Elizabeth II, with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and members of the Household Division in attendance.