Introduction
This walk is devised to get Olympic Games ticket holders arriving at Paddington Railway Station to Green Park where stewards will direct them to events in the Mall (northern spectator area). The station will be very busy, particularly during the games.
Route Description
[1] Exit Paddington Station up the sloping road to Praed Street. Turn left at Praed Street and walk a few metres to London Street. Cross over Praed Street and walk along the left side of London Street. Use the controlled crossings here as this is a very busy road. Take care when walking past the Roadworks and Scaffolding currently up in London Street. Cross over Sussex Gardens and continue along Sussex Place until you reach the roundabout at the end of the road.
(A) There are some very fine residential houses in these streets built in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
[2] Use the crossings at the roundabout to cross to the left-hand side pavement of Stanhope Terrace which is to the right of The Victoria Pub. Walk along Stanhope Terrace, turning left onto Brook Street at the end. Go along Brook Street until you reach the busy Bayswater Road. Cross Bayswater Road into Hyde Park through the Victoria Gate. This is a busy road, use the crossings provided.
[3] Once inside the gate carry on straight, crossing first over North Carriage Drive and then over a gravelly bridleway onto the pavement. Immediately turn left on the pavement and walk along a short way continuing straight on past a first fork in the path. At the second fork in the path, take the middle path to your right and follow it to walk diagonally across the open space of Hyde Park towards Broadwalk and Lovers Walk.
(B) Hyde Park was created by Henry VIII to satisfy his passion for hunting and is one of London's finest landscapes, covering 350 acres. It is a Royal Park, famous for its open air debates at Speakers Corner, The Sepentine lake and as the site of many large scale events such at the Great Exhibition in 1851 and, in more recent years, many open air rock concerts.
You will eventually get to another fork, where you should again take the right-hand prong, carrying on almost straight on from the path you have come from towards Speakers Corner.
[4] A short distance on, to the right of Speakers Corner, the path ends at a junction with the tree-lined Broadwalk, turn right onto the Broadwalk and continue walking adjacent to the nearby Park lane. The Broadwalk is popular with cyclists, ensure you stay on the right-hand side and avoid the designated cycle lane.
[5] Exit left from the Broadwalk down a path towards the Joy of Life Fountain.
(C) The Joy of Life Fountain forms part of Hyde Park's Memorial Walk commemorating Princess Diana. The fountain was originally sculpted by T. B. Huxley-Jones in 1963, but was recently rebuilt.
When you reach the fountain, take the path to the right, which leads to the narrower, tree-lined Lover's Walk. Continue on down Lover's Walk past the 7 July Memorial. Directly after the memorial, there is a path leading off to the left, follow this to exit the park at Curzon Gate.
(D) The The 7 July Memorial honouring the victims of the 7 July 2005 London Bombings was produced by a design team including architects Carmody Groarke and engineering team Arup and was unveiled on the four year Anniversary of the atrocity in 2009 by Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. The memorial comprises 52 stainless steel pillars, representing the individuality of each of the 52 victims, in four clusters reflecting the four locations of the incidents. Inscriptions marking the date, time and locations of the bombings are placed on each of the stelae.
[6] At the Curzon Gate turn left to walk along Park Lane until you reach a controlled crossing on your right. Take the crossing across both lanes of Park Lane into the district of Mayfair, with the Dorchester Hotel on your left.The road is very busy here, with fast moving traffic, use the controlled crossings.
(E) Originally a country lane, Park Lane became a fashionable residential address from the eighteenth century onwards. It was lined with some of the largest privately owned mansions in London, including the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor House and the Holford family's Dorchester House (demolished in 1929 and replaced in 1931 with the Dorchester) both of which are now hotels. Park Lane owes much of its fame to its being the second most valuable property on the London edition of the board game Monopoly. It is now a busy six lane highway and marks the western boundary with Mayfair.
(F) As you cross over Park lane, you can see Dale Chihuly's 'Torchlight Chandelier', which was created to mark London's Olympic year and was unveiled a the end of January 2012. The sculpture weighs 635 kilos and is composed of 350 organically-shaped elements. The brilliantly-coloured and clear sculpture is six metres high and is illuminated nightly, giving it a dramatic presence which dominates the central London landscape.
Once you have crossed over the pedestrain crossings to Stanhope Gate, continue ahead on this road until you reach South Audley Street. Turn right and continue to Curzon Street at the end.
(G) Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site. Between the mid seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was first developed as a fashionable residential district by a number of landlords. The Rothschild family bought up large areas in the nineteenth century and the freehold of a large selection now belongs to the Crown Estate
[7] Turn left into Curzon Street and walk along, crossing over Queen Street. Use the pedestrian crossings as this is a busy road, taking the right-hand crossing directly after the first crossing over Queen Street to ensure you are on the right side. At the end of Curzon street, the road bends left into Fitzmaurice Place. Follow this to Berkley Square.
(H) Berkeley Square was originally a mostly residential area, there now remains only one residential block on the square - number 48. Property here is amongst the most expensive in London.The square features a statue by Alexander Monro, a Pre-Raphaelite sculptor, which was made in 1858. The surrounding London Plane trees are among the oldest in central London, planted in 1789. Gunter's Tea Shop founded under a different name in 1757 is also located in Berkeley Square. The buildings around the square include several by other notable architects including Robert Adam, who designed Lansdown House. 50 Berkeley Square is the most infamous haunted house in London.
[8] On Berkley Square, turn right and continue on until your reach Berkley Street, on the eastern side of the Square. Turn right again and walk along Berkley Street (you can see the Ritz Hotel is straight ahead) until you reach Stratton Street on your right. Turn into Stratton Street and follow it round to reach Piccadilly.
[9] Green Park Station, the end point of the walk is straight ahead on your left. It will be very busy here during the Games, stick to designated walkways, follow signs and the instructions of the stewards.