Lennie Hancock

The Hyde Park Estate, just to the north of the famous Park is the ideal place to stay while visiting London. There areHere you will find plenty of hotels and bed and breakfasts, and also and there is a great selection of pubs and restaurants. You are never far from a bus stop or a tube station to get you around the city, and Paddington Station is nearby where you can take the train to Heathrow, Windsor, Bath and other great sightseeing hubs around the West of England. Of course Hyde Park itself is a great draw, featuring the Italian Gardens, the Serpentine Lake and several sculptures and memorials.

The Hyde Park estate is an affluent area featuring rows of period townhouses, most of which have been transformed into apartments or London bed and breakfastsB&Bs and or Hohotelss. I say London B&Bs because most of them are not B and Bsbed and breakfasts in the normal traditional sense, but are large Victorian or Georgian houses which have been converted to provide holiday accommodation and , but are run as businesses rather than people letting our spare bed rooms. In todays parlance they are becoming known as boutique hotels or townhouse hotels. But in essence they are professionally run London B&Bs.

In between the neat Georgian terraces are several Mews, originally built as rows of stables with living quarters for servants above them. These served the rich families who lived in the houses. Today the Mews have been converted into trendy mews houses and the stables are now used as garages for cars, but the cobbled streets leading from the roads give the area a 19th century charm. One set of horse stables remains in Bathurst Mews and it is joy to watch young children take the reins of a pony during their horse riding lessons in Hyde Park.

On the edge of the Hyde Park Estate the Lancaster London towers above Lancaster Gate underground station. Its one of the many 60s built blocks in the area which have undergone makeovers in recent years. Some of these high rise buildings boast apartments with lovely views over Hyde Park, while the others provide vistas looking over the rooftops of the townhouses and mews.

The Hyde Park estate is also home to several boutiques, art galleries and bijoux cafés which make up Connaught Village. Famous residents include the ex-Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who lives in Connaught Square. His house is the one with armed police stationed outside. Another ex-Prime Minister who used to live in the area was Sir Winston Churchill. His former residence in Sussex Square is marked by an English Heritage blue plaque. Nearby on Sussex Place you will find the Victoria Pub which he used to frequent.