Dog walking in Bayswater
North of Kensington Gardens, the closest neighbourhood to the park. Quiet streets, leafy squares, and dogs who know exactly which doorman has biscuits.
Bayswater is the closest of our three neighbourhoods to Kensington Gardens. From most homes here, the park is no more than ten minutes away on foot.
We’ve been walking dogs in Bayswater since 2007. After all this time, we know the streets, the side streets, and the shortcuts here better than most of the people who live in them.
The neighbourhood we know best
We have more dogs in Bayswater than anywhere else, and we always have. Most of them live on the streets west of Queensway: Linden Gardens, Chepstow Road, Chepstow Place, Newton Road, Bark Place, Artesian Road, Leinster Square, Pembridge Place, Hereford Road, Northumberland Place. Quiet residential streets, garden squares behind iron railings, Victorian terraces, the occasional small hotel.
Bark Place in particular has been part of our story since the beginning. We’ve walked dogs from almost every house on that street at some point over the years. We’ve watched families move in, raise children, get a dog, watch the dog grow old, sell the house, and move on. We’ve stayed. Some of those owners we still hear from. Our friend Jodie, who lets us refill the dogs’ water bottles before the long walk in the park, has lived on Bark Place for many years.
On the way to the park we pass the Greek Orthodox Cathedral and the New West End Synagogue, two of the quieter landmarks of the neighbourhood. Then we enter Kensington Gardens through Orme Square Gate or Black Lion Gate.
The streets we walk through Bayswater on the way to the park
Why your dog will love it
Bayswater’s smaller streets are noticeably calmer than the main roads. There are fewer tourists here than around Notting Hill Gate or along Bayswater Road, which means the dogs can settle into their walk earlier. Most of our pack are unbothered by the city by now, but the quiet always feel good.
The neighbourhood has its regulars. The dogs greet them by sight, sometimes by smell, occasionally by physical contact (we apologise to anyone wearing trousers they didn’t want furry).
Sometimes we pass an owner trying to convince their reluctant dog to walk to the park. The dog plants their feet, then sees us, then quietly falls in step behind us. The owner usually thanks us with a slightly embarrassed smile and follows the cue. Their dog has decided. They’re going to the park now.
What Bayswater offers
Bayswater is more residential than the other two neighbourhoods we cover. Once you leave the main roads, the streets get quieter quickly: small Victorian houses, the occasional mews, garden squares that you can only enter with a key. The dogs love these streets because there is space, very little traffic, and almost always another familiar dog within a few minutes’ walk.
There are more small hotels here than anywhere else we walk, which means more strangers wheeling suitcases, but the pack stopped registering them years ago. There are also several shops along the route that put water bowls out in summer, which feels like a quiet kindness from people who understand. Some of the local vets do the same.
For a busy part of central London, Bayswater can feel surprisingly small. Once you know the streets, the streets know you back.
Postcodes and area
We cover parts of W2 4 and W2 5. Not every street in these postcodes, only the ones close enough to walk to Kensington Gardens. If you’re not sure whether you’re in our area, just send us a message and we’ll let you know.