Chelsea & Battersea

Today the weather was so great, that I decided to walk to Battersea Park, as I sometimes do on Sundays. Spoiler: most of the park turned out to be closed for some car race event, which I didn’t know. So I will have to make another post about it next time.

I live in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which is a really beautiful area of London. It is also considered pretty posh, and that’s inevitably reflected in the local property prices.

The Chelsea part of it, which I am walking through, is even more posh than Kensington and is mostly associated with Russian oligarchs, although I’m not quite sure how many of them actually do live here.

As I said above, I usually go to Battersea Park on Sundays and I don’t think I’m ever in this area on weekdays, so can’t tell if it’s only on Sundays when it looks totally deserted like this.

King’s Road looks slightly more lively, but again, nothing compared to most other places around Central London.

In about fifteen minutes or so I reach the Thames and Battersea Bridge.

Battersea Park is on the other bank of the river, but I don’t cross just yet. Instead, I walk along the Chelsea Embankment right towards the next bridge.

This is the Chelsea Old Church.

And here is Albert Bridge, which will take me straight to the (unwelcoming!) gates of Battersea park.

Albert Bridge was once intended to be a toll bridge, but the idea proved to be a commercial failure. The bridge had the tendency to vibrate when troops marched over it, hence the notice on the tollbooth.

The fluffy clouds make everything look magical and surreal.

And finally I reach Battersea Park!

As mentioned, most of the park is closed for the FIA Formula E Championship race, with pretty much the only exception of the riverside walk.

So I have to go back. This time I walk along the south bank of the Thames, towards Battersea Bridge. Look at this residential building – I find it so beautiful! And one can only imagine the flat prices here…

The same building from another angle.

And this is the Albion Riverside building, constructed as part of the ongoing plan to develop the area around the Battersea Power Station. It is a residential building too, but it also has business spaces and leisure facilities.

What a contrast to the historic Crosby Hall building right across the Thames!

More beautiful views with fluffy clouds, as I cross Battersea Bridge.

And I am back in Chelsea, with its cosy red-brick houses and bright-green vegetation.

Clearly, those hanging flower baskets are not particular to this area – you’ve probably seen plenty of them elsewhere in London!

Looks like those exhorting notices for dog owners are specifically the initiative of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, though.

By the way, Chelsea is not that well connected to the rest of London in terms of public transport – there are some public buses running around, but no tube stations in an immediate walking distance. I guess, the habitants of the area love their Ferraris and Lamborghinis and don’t really need public transport.

Continuing with stereotyping, I’m also pretty sure they only shop at Harrods and nowhere else – see the magazine in the postbox! 🙂

What I love about this part of London is the beautiful gardens. Even if most (or all) of them are private, peeking through the fence wouldn’t hurt!

The wonderfully sweet scent of jasmine is following you everywhere!

And a few more minutes of walking along the empty streets of Chelsea, before I get to my street and finally home.