Kensington, W8, from the dealers on Church Street to the gardens

An afternoon among the dealers

Nobody has to buy anything. Two hours at £500 spent walking up the street and into four or five shops is an education, and the dealers are, almost without exception, pleased to talk to anyone who looks properly. One of our companions collects antique jewellery and another reads tailoring and furniture the way other people read faces; either will make the afternoon better than it would be alone. Afternoons here cost exactly what evenings cost.

The gardens at the bottom of the hill

Kensington Gardens begin where the street ends. The Round Pond, the Italian Gardens at the far side, the long walk down to the Albert Memorial: all of it is twenty minutes from a High Street hotel lobby and none of it costs anything. The gates close at dusk, which in December means half past three and in June means half past nine, so check the hour before you plan around it. Your companion will know the nearest gate to wherever you are staying.

The High Street after six

Kensington High Street is a working shopping street rather than a grand one, and it empties in the evening into a handful of rooms that are quieter than their equivalents further east. A three hour booking at £700 that starts at seven will take in a drink, a table and the walk back with no part of it feeling rushed. Tamsin holds the table the day before if you ask; the room on Church Street that most guests want is small and goes early.

Five hotels across W8 and the edges

W8 4PT, on the High Street looking straight into the gardens. W8 5DL, a small red brick house on Kensington Court. SW7 5BB, across Kensington Road on the park side. SW7 5LR, down in South Kensington. W14 8NL, out west beside the exhibition halls.

Nothing links this house to any of them. They stand here as landmarks, and no front desk learns a thing about any booking.

Stations, and the minutes on foot

High Street Kensington is 1 minute from the middle of the district, Circle and District lines, with the entrance inside a shopping arcade that catches people out the first time. Notting Hill Gate is 8 minutes uphill and adds the Central line. Gloucester Road is 9 minutes south, with the Piccadilly line for Heathrow. Companions come by car, and the fare across the first two zones belongs to the fee.

Who books in W8

Long stays, in the main. People here for a fortnight in a rented flat off Holland Street, visitors doing the museums properly rather than in an afternoon, collectors over for a sale who have built two free evenings into the trip. There is also a steady flow of guests staying at Olympia during an exhibition week, who want dinner somewhere that is not a conference hotel and would rather not cross into W1 to find it.

The two nearest, and who else comes

Danielle is twenty-nine, dark and structured, with one strong line an evening and no competing details; she likes antiques, tailoring and fish on the menu, and is at her best over three hours or more. Thea is twenty-nine, green eyed and caramel haired, refuses to be hurried by anyone, and prefers an early table and a long evening after it.

From the west, Milena and Nora come over from Holland Park in under ten minutes. From the east, Bianka, Margo and Sonya cross from Knightsbridge in about fifteen.

Doors either side of W8

Holland Park begins at the top of Church Street, seven minutes up the hill. Knightsbridge is twenty minutes east along Kensington Road, or ten by car. Chelsea lies south beyond the museums, about fifteen minutes by car down Gloucester Road. Notting Hill, South Kensington and Gloucester Road sit on the same short map and are attended on identical terms.