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College Garden

Millbank · 1.9 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.

Flanders Fields Memorial Garden

Green Park · 1.9 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.

Mahatma Gandhi

Westminster · 2.5 miles

Located in Parliament Square, Westminster, the bronze figure of Mahatma Gandhi forms part of the square’s collection of public memorials. Sculpted by Philip Jackson, the work was completed and installed on 14 March 2015. The statue measures roughly 2.7 metres in height and rests on a plinth deliberately set lower than those of neighbouring monuments, a design choice made by the Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust. As a memorial, it commemorates the centenary of Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa, an event regarded as the start of his campaign for independence. The commission followed an announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in July 2014, linking the new monument to the broader UK-India friendship. Planning permission was granted by Westminster City Council later that year, and funding was assembled through public donations and sponsorships coordinated by the Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust, founded by Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai. At the unveiling, Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the statue, while speakers included the UK Prime Minister, an Indian film actor and Gandhi’s grandson. In June 2020 the statue was defaced during protests, with the word “racist” painted on its surface. The monument remains in the publicly accessible square, reachable on foot from surrounding streets and public transport links serving Westminster.

National Covid Memorial Wall

Westminster · 2.5 miles

A line of red hearts painted on a concrete wall runs for more than one-third of a mile along the South Bank of the River Thames, opposite the Palace of Westminster. The stretch begins near Westminster Bridge and continues to Lambeth Bridge, outside St Thomas’ Hospital, and incorporates an older plaque that commemorates the 1994-96 BSE outbreak. The work marks a public tribute to every person whose death certificate recorded COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, with each heart representing an individual. The initiative was launched in March 2021 by the campaign group Led By Donkeys in partnership with Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice. Over a thousand volunteers applied red paint to roughly 150 000 hearts during a ten-day period that started on 29 March 2021, and bereaved families added names and messages. Although the original paint was not weather-resistant, a small group of volunteers later formed an unincorporated association known as the Friends of the Wall. This team has repeatedly repainted the hearts with durable masonry paint, refreshed dedications, removed graffiti and added new hearts as the national death toll rose. In June 2025 the memorial was registered as a charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, and in November 2025 the House of Lords announced its status as a permanent national memorial. The wall is accessible at street level from the South Bank promenade and does not require an entry fee. It is listed in OpenStreetMap as a monument and historic feature, with Westminster identified as the nearest town. Visitors can view the hearts, read the personal messages and observe the ongoing community-led maintenance work. No dedicated facilities such as a visitor centre are mentioned, but the open-air setting allows unrestricted public viewing.

Commonwealth Memorial Gates

City of Westminster · 2.5 miles

Situated at the Hyde Park Corner end of Constitution Hill, the Commonwealth Memorial Gates form a stone monument on the edge of the City of Westminster. The structure honours the volunteers from the Indian sub-continent, Africa and the Caribbean who served Britain in both World Wars, a dedication recorded on the main inscription that mentions five million such volunteers. A shorter dedication, quoting Nigerian poet Ben Okri, reads “Our Future is Greater Than Our Past”. Two stone slabs flank the pavilion on the Green Park side, each listing the principal campaigns in which Imperial forces fought, from West Africa and Gallipoli in the First World War to Burma, Malaya and the Dutch East Indies in the Second. The memorial’s pillars are cut from Portland stone and surmounted by a bronze urn fitted with gas flames, which are ignited on occasions such as Remembrance Sunday, Armistice Day and Commonwealth Day. A modest domed pavilion houses a ceiling bearing the names of 74 individuals from the commemorated regions who received the George Cross or Victoria Cross, divided between the two conflicts. Planning was overseen by the Memorial Gates Trust, with Prince Charles as inaugural patron and a board that included Lord Inge and Baroness Flather. Construction began on 1 August 2001, the first stone laid by the Queen Mother, and the gates were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 6 November 2002, noted as the Golden Jubilee year of her reign. The site is a listed historic feature and can be approached from Constitution Hill, adjacent to the entrance of Hyde Park.

Westminster Bridge

Westminster · 2.5 miles

Westminster Bridge carries both vehicles and pedestrians across the River Thames, joining the Westminster side with Lambeth and offering views of the Palace of Westminster, County Hall and the London Eye. The structure is painted in a green hue that matches the leather seats in the House of Commons, contrasting with the red of the nearby Lambeth Bridge. Managed by Transport for London, the bridge is listed at Grade II* and is freely accessible to the public; no admission charge applies. The present bridge dates from the mid-nineteenth century, having replaced the original 1750 construction after subsidence problems. Designed by Thomas Page and opened on 24 May 1862, it spans 820 feet (250 m) in length and 85 feet (26 m) in width, featuring seven cast-iron arches and Gothic detailing by Charles Barry. A tram line used the bridge from 1906 until its final ceremonial run on 5 July 1952. Between 2005 and 2007 the bridge underwent a full refurbishment, during which iron fascias were replaced and the whole structure repainted. Beyond its transport role, the bridge has featured in several public events. It served as the finishing point for the early London Marathon and is the start and finish venue for the Bridges Handicap Race. Notable incidents include the 22 March 2017 terrorist attack that resulted in five deaths and the January 2024 pro-Palestinian demonstration that led to police-restricted access. Since the removal of Rennie's New London Bridge in 1967, Westminster Bridge remains the oldest road crossing over the Thames in central London.