Welcome one and all to another walk across London! This week I’ll be visiting the exclusive and wealthy side of the capital, as my journey begins in Grosvenor Gardens. From there I go via upmarket Belgravia to Sloane Square before finishing at one of the world’s most famous department stores, Harrods in Knightsbridge. So let’s grab the walking boots and go!
My walk starts in Upper Grosvenor Gardens which has only been open to the public recently, and with its plants and benches is the perfect place to relax. The name Grosvenor derives from the Grosvenor family who were landowners in the area.
One of the distinctive features within the garden is a sculpture of a Lioness chasing a Lesser Kudu. It was created by the famous animal sculptor Jonathan Kenworthy, and has been there since 2000 to mark the opening of the gardens to the people of Westminster. It certainly is an eye-catching aspect of the gardens which you don’t miss!
At one of the entrances also stands this war memorial with poppy wreaths laid in remembrance.
Whenever you’re in a garden you normally only take in the plants, grass area and sculptures, however, the outer fencing has this really unique and stylish design!
It’s time to move onto my next location on today’s walk as I head for affluent Belgravia and Eaton Square. Now if you thought living in London was expensive, you’ve not seen anything yet! In December Eaton Square was given the honour of being the most expensive place to buy a home in the UK. The average home in this area costs a staggering £17 million! Some properties in the area have been on the market for as much as over £50 million! Looking at the size of the houses you can see why!
Opposite the houses sits some beautiful gardens too, which are private to the residents of the mansions!
I must say walking through all these expensive and fancy mansions is actually quite fun to get a glimpse of the high life! Though I’ll never be able to afford them, or you never know if this blog takes off and makes me a millionaire I might…. but for now strolling past them will have to do!
I leave the well-heeled Belgravia mansions to go onto my next stop, Sloane Square! Located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the square used to be called ‘Hans Town’ after Sir Hans Sloane whose estates owned the land at the time. The square was laid out in 1771 by architects Henry Holland Snr and Henry Holland Jnr.
Within the square sits The Venus Fountain which was sculptured in 1953 by Gilbert Ledward. The life-sized bronze Venus is seen kneeling on top of a large vase whilst pouring water into a pool lined with light blue ceramic tiles. The Venus is sitting on a relief of King Charles II and his mistress, Nell Gywnn.
At the opposite end of The Venus Fountain you find a Royal Naval Air Service memorial which again has poppy wreaths laid out on it in remembrance.
Next to Sloane Square you’ll find the picturesque Parish Church of Holy Trinity Sloane Square which is an Anglican parish church built between 1888-1890, and designed by architect John Dando Sedding.
A walk along Sloane Street takes you to one of London’s secret hidden gems at Cadogan Place Gardens. Once known as the London Botanic Gardens, they were laid out at the end of the 18th century by William Sailsbury. Walking through the gardens feels like you’re in one of London’s Royal Parks or the countryside, not a small pretty garden near Knightsbridge. Within the gardens sits lawns, plants, hedges and sculptures, everything you’d expect from a beautiful garden! The more you walk through it, you discover lots of picturesque surprises!
It’s time to move onto my final location in Knightsbridge, Harrods. To get there I pass many high-end brands from Gucci to Chanel and many other brands I don’t normally buy from!
One of Knightsbridge’s most recognisable stores is Harrods which was founded in 1834 by Charles Henry Harrod. The store is 20,000 m2 with 330 departments that covers 90,000 m2 of retail space. Harrods’ motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique, which means “all things for all people, everywhere” in Latin! From clothing to electronics to jewellery to toys to furniture, it’s all there for you! I do love the distinctive green colouring of the branding and with its unique products makes it a huge tourist hot spot!
My walk has taken me through some of London’s richest and most exclusive areas, whether it’s the mansions of Belgravia to the gardens near Knightsbridge, it has been a trip through the capital’s upmarket side! Hope you’ve enjoyed reading my walk, and you can catch me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and don’t forget to sign up to my blog too!
Until next time, have a great week, and see you soon!
Sources: (not the food sauces)
All photos taken by London Wlogger. © Copyright 2017
Information on Grosvenor Gardens – London is Cool
Information on Grosvenor Gardens – Secret London
Information on Grosvenor Gardens – My Parks Westminster
Information on Sloane Square – The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
London’s Most Beautiful Fountains – Londonist
About The Parish Church of Holy Trinity Sloane Square – Holy Trinity Sloane Square
Information about Cadogan Place Gardens – London Gardens Trust
London Wlogger 
If you have to ask the price… I was just reading a Recency romance set in Grosvenor Square. Times haven’t changed much for the wealthy. I have been to Harrods, the obligatory pilgrimage to the Food Hall. 🙂
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Haha yeah the Harrods food is always of a high quality 😜
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Excellent. Love the links as well.
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Great to hear, Sherry! 😊
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I used to live near Grosvenor Gardens, in Lupus Street, Pimlico. It wasn’t very posh though. In actual fact, our cockroaches left due to the squalor and we used to wipe our feet on the way OUT!
Another enjoyable stroll through our mighty capital. Well played! 🙂
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Very nice. Thanks for showing us!😌
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My pleasure, thanks for joining me!
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Fantastic post, really enjoyed the photos. I need to check these places out. 🙂
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Thanks Tom, hopefully you can enjoy this walk soon!
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I’m planning to head to London April for my birthday, and these walks look like something I’ll be doing, definitely!
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Excellent that sounds like a great way to celebrate your birthday!
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Always look forward to your walks, and the hidden gems you uncover. Today you covered the “Rich Areas”. Someone had the gall on a blog yesterday to call this Country poor – really. The UK has always been Rich, perhaps money in the wrong hands, better not get political.
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Thank you 😊 Like most places there are rich and more deprived areas, but this is certainly one of the wealthiest places you’ll see not just in the UK, but the world!
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Yes, of course wherever you go you find money people.
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Thank you for a very enjoyable walk, it was great! I think the mansions at Eaton Square look more like government buildings than homes. While luxurious I don’t think I’d want to live there.
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Yeah I’ve never really seen anyone come out or into the mansions! Quite a few of them are Country Embassies too!
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I know this area of London a little better given that when in London I stay in this area. Many of those mansions are usually just a pied a terre and no one seems to be living there permanently. As for Harrod’s I remember the food halls before 1996 which were delightful, it changed quite a bit afterwards and is not as nice nowadays.
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Thanks for sharing your memories, Larry! I’ve never seen anyone living in the mansions either, so I’d be happy to live there 😜
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ah … this is my part of the world… I worked in Holy Trinity Church for 8 years running their Sunday school and as church secretary until 2015. They have a new priest now who dislike …… and 10 Grosvenor gardens was one of my first jobs in London- lived round the corner (40 years ago).
beautiful photographs and excellent guide to London x
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Oh awesome, what a great coincidence! Glad you enjoyed it 😊
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I am going through photographs taken over last 16 years and I have a few you might like x
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Awesome that sounds great, I’d love to see them!
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smiles … I find your blog fascinating … thanks for dropping by on mine…
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Glad you’re a fan of it, music to my ears!
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it’s good to have such music x
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Again a great walk to keep in mind when next I visit.
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Splendid! Let me know when you do it 😊
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I remember driving by Harrod’s several times and walking into it once. Quite an experience! I wouldn’t want to live in the expensive areas if I had to act snooty.
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Haha yeah it’s not your usual store you visit!
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You are so right!
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As usual, entertaining and informative. I’m struck by the diversity in this walk. Great photos.
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Thanks Caroline, there’s so much to see in a short distance!
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Lovely photos and history. Thanks for the tour!
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Thanks for joining me 😊
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another interesting walk:)
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Thanks Tanja, hopefully you can do it at some point 😊
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You certainly picked the best day to walk this weekend. It’s been a while since I was in that part of London. Lovely pictures!
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I actually did this walk a few weeks ago 😉 The weather has been terrible recently! Glad you enjoyed it 😊
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It would be interesting to see inside one of those homes but I wouldn’t want to live there – the stairs would be horrendous! It’s a pretty area to visit though.
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I think there would be a lot of expensive furniture! In a house that big you’d probably get lost haha.
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Really enjoying your blog, thanks for looking in on my ramblings😎
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Glad to hear, Duncan!
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