Focus on Notting Hill

Behind the hustle and bustle of Notting Hill Gate and Portobello can be found a swathe of green open space, largely unseen to the passer by, as many of the gardens are behind the large villas found here.

When I came to publish my book on Notting Hill a few years back, one of my priorities was to try and catalogue the array of secret private gardens, of which there are over 16 and a special feature of this part of town. Thankfully, I was given special access to six of them and able to record their ever changing moods over a year. With spring on its way, here is a flavour of what I found.

Map of Notting Hill, courtesy of OpenStreetMap.

Ladbroke Square Garden - the largest garden square in London

Rosemead Garden, where they filmed the famous bench scene from the film Notting Hill. Sadly, the bench was removed some years ago. It was clearly too popular.

Andrew WilsonMarch 7, 2023