MARCH 2020
I visited Notting Hill for the first time in December 2018 and I can’t believe it took me this long to visit! As you all know by now, I absolutely love colorful houses, so I couldn’t help falling in love with Notting Hill. In February 2020 I visited Notting Hill again and felt super lucky because some magnolias and cherry trees had already started blossoming. This meant that Hielke had to spend a day hunting blossoms with me and even the morning rain couldn’t stop us. After doing extensive research on where to spot the best colorful houses & blossoms, we set out on a walking tour of Notting Hill and neighboring Holland Park.
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a good destination year-round, during spring time you will find the area scattered with cherry blossoms and wisteria. Each season has something special to offer in contrast with the pastel colored houses. Because the houses are maintained really well, they make for the perfect backdrop for your pictures. We visited at the end of February and luckily we already spotted some small cherry blossoms and magnolias.
We started our visit at metro station Notting Hill Gate and navigated to Portobello Road, which takes you right through Notting Hill. You will shortly pass the super cute café “Farm Girl”. At the beginning of Portobello Road you will find the famous colorful houses and if you continue you will walk into the thrift/antique store part. I loved browsing through the porcelain at Alice’s, which is somewhat of a local institution. Make sure to also check out the side streets, as these are less busy and the houses are equally charming as the houses on Portobello Road.
When you walk on Portobello Road to the square on which the All Saints store is located, you can turn to your right and you will see the cutest flower store: Wild at Heart. Wild at Heart is located in the main shopping hub of Notting Hill. On this square you will find all sorts of upscale stores such as Sézane, Jigsaw, Maje and the Kooples. There is also a small annexation of the amazing, organic “Daylesford farm”, where you could stop for drinks at the café or browse through their farmshop offerings. If you do this walk you should have some sort of idea of Notting Hill, but I could honestly wander around here for days 😉
Holland Park
Holland Park is the neighborhood right next to Notting Hill, the houses are equally lovely, but this area is less touristy. On Portobello Road you will run into some photobombing, but this is not the case in Holland Park. We walked in the direction of Elgin Cress from the Wild at Heart flower shop, and from there we walked to Penzance Place to spot the pink house on the corner. We loved the church and gardens at St James’s gardens and the colorful houses surrounding the park. At times we couldn’t believe that some people are as lucky to actually live here, some streets looked like a proper movie set. In Holland Park you have the benefit of living in a beautiful neighborhood, but you do not have to endure tourists like in Notting Hill, where we noted that several house owners blocked their entrance to keep out tourists.
Christmas in Notting Hill
In this paragraph I will include some pictures of my previous visit to Notting Hill, during Christmas Time. Notting Hill was not as Christmassy decorated as the city center, but the decorations were small and tasteful and added much ambiance to the already beautiful houses.
The Churchill Arms
The Churchill Arms is one of London’s prettiest pubs. The exterior is always decorated with beautiful flower baskets, even in February though it gets even more crazy during summer time. The Churchill Arms is located close to Notting Hill, so make sure to grab some Thai food while you are in the area.
