Dog walking in Kensington
West of Kensington Gardens, just across the park from Notting Hill. Grand terraces, embassy quiet, and dogs who carry themselves like minor royalty.
Kensington (W8) sits to the west of Kensington Gardens. Our patch here is smaller than in Bayswater or Notting Hill, but the streets we walk are some of the most characterful in the whole area: narrow lanes between Kensington Church Street and Campden Hill Road, lined with townhouses, some of them painted in soft colours that tourists like to photograph.
We’ve been walking dogs in Kensington since 2007, and several of the dogs we have here are some of the longest-standing in our pack.
From your door to Kensington Gardens
In Kensington we collect dogs from streets like Peel Street, Campden Street, Bedford Gardens, and Palace Gardens Terrace. The narrow lanes between Kensington Church Street and Campden Hill Road are surprisingly calm given how central they are. Cars pass through, but the heavy traffic stays on Kensington Church Street, the main road we cross during the walk.
On the way we often pause at Pet Pavilion on Kensington Church Street, where there’s always a water bowl out and where we sometimes stop in for an emergency top-up of poo bags or treats. From there we either take the shortcut through Kensington Mall straight to the park, or head north through Notting Hill Gate to collect the rest of the group from Bayswater or Notting Hill. Our walks usually mix dogs from all three neighbourhoods, so the route depends on who’s with us that day.
We enter Kensington Gardens through Orme Square Gate or Black Lion Gate. The dogs always speed up a little here. They know what comes next.
The streets we walk through Kensington on the way to the park
A quietly eventful walk
Kensington’s streets are grand, but they are far from uneventful. Once, walking through Notting Hill Gate near the Gate Picturehouse cinema, a royal motorcade slowed and stopped at the crossing. We waited, the pack waited, and as one of the cars passed we looked up and saw the King looking out of the window. The dogs noticed nothing.
The other thing Kensington is full of is antique shops, and we walk past their windows several times a week. Most of the dogs ignore them entirely. But one of ours, Millie, could not stand a particular shop on Kensington Church Street. The window display had two large porcelain dogs in it, sitting upright and staring out at the street. Every time we passed, Millie stopped, planted her feet, and growled at them. She seemed to take their presence personally. We never quite got her over it.
Why your dog will love it
Kensington has fewer dogs per square metre than Bayswater or Notting Hill, which can make the walks here feel a bit calmer. The narrow lanes are well-kept and surprisingly quiet, the houses are softly coloured, and there’s always something interesting on a doorstep or in a window. Like the dog who watches us from a windowsill on Farmer Street and barks every time we pass. He always makes us smile.
Within a few weeks of joining us, the dogs walk through Kensington as if they belong there. Which, by then, they do.
Postcodes and area
We cover parts of W8 4 and W8 7. 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.