Cycle tours developed by Open House Volunteers, Robin Key and Peter Bury

All directions from Google Maps and accurate as of 11 September 2020

Ride 1

Start : Peter Jones, Sloane Square
Holy Trinity Church
Royal Hospital Chelsea and the National Army Museum
Moravian Close
Leighton Hose Museum
Embassy of Estonia
Dana Research Centre
Ismaili Centre
South Kensington Tube
Institut Francais
Finish: Serpentine Pavilion

15km

Peter Jones & Partners, Sloane Square, Chelsea, London SW1W 8EL

Grade II* listed building, involving complex mix of new build and restoration. Britain's first ever curtain walling and listed features such as spiral staircase. Sloane Room has one of best views over Chelsea. RIBA Award Winner 2005.

Directions
Head north-east on King's Rd/A3217 towards Sloane Square/A3216 > Turn left onto Sloane Square/A3216 > Turn right to stay on Sloane Square/A3216> Turn left onto Sloane St/A3216, destination will be on the right
1 min (489 ft)

Holy Trinity Church, Sloane St, Belgravia, London SW1X 9BZ

A sumptuous feast of Victorian stained glass and bold sacred sculpture at what Sir John Betjeman called the 'cathedral of the Arts and Crafts movement.' Work by William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, William Blake and Christopher Whall.

Directions
Head south on Sloane St/A3216 towards Sloane Square > Turn left onto Sloane Square/A3216 > Turn right to stay on Sloane Square/A3216 > Turn right to stay on Sloane Square/A3216 > Turn left to stay on Sloane Square/A3216 > Continue to follow A3216 > Turn right onto Royal Hospital Rd/B302 > Turn left onto East Rd > Turn right, destination will be on the right
4 min (0.5 mi)

Royal Hospital Chelsea, Chelsea, London

Numbered amongst England's architectural glories and home to the Chelsea Pensioners since 1692, the Royal Hospital Chelsea, designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built following the Great Fire, sits within 66 acres of beautiful grounds.

Directions
Head north towards East Rd > Turn left onto East Rd > Turn left towards Royal Hospital Rd/B302 > Turn right towards Royal Hospital Rd/B302 > Turn left onto Royal Hospital Rd/B302 > Turn left onto Royal Hospital Rd > Turn right to stay on Royal Hospital Rd > Turn left > Restricted-usage road, destination will be on the left
2 min (0.3 mi)

National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Rd, Chelsea, London SW3 4HT

Site previously formed part of the infirmary of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Brutalist, completed in 1971. A leading authority on the British Army and its impact on society. Five galleries with thousands of objects from their collections

Directions
Head north-west towards Royal Hospital Rd > Restricted-usage road > Continue straight onto Royal Hospital Rd > Turn left onto Royal Hospital Rd/B302 > Turn left onto Tite St > Turn right onto Chelsea Embankment/A3212 > Continue to follow A3212 > Turn right onto Beaufort St > Turn left onto King's Rd/A3217 > Turn left onto Milman's St > Turn left, destination will be on the right
7 min (1.2 mi)

Moravian Close, 381 King's Rd, Chelsea, London SW10 0LP

A former stable yard of Sir Thomas More's Chelsea estate, now an 18C Chapel, other buildings, and burial ground. Parts of the enclosing walls are Tudor in origin. E and M Gillick enhanced the grounds in the 20C.

Directions
Head south-west towards Milman's St > Turn right at Milman's St > Turn right onto King's Rd/A3217 > Turn left onto Beaufort St > Continue onto Drayton Gardens > Continue onto Bina Gardens > Turn right onto Wetherby Gardens > Turn left onto Ashburn Pl > Go through 2 roundabouts > Continue onto Grenville Pl > Turn right onto Cornwall Gardens > Turn left onto Gloucester Rd/B325 > Turn left onto Kynance Pl > Turn right onto Launceston Pl > Turn left onto Victoria Grove > Continue onto St. Albans Grove > Turn right onto Kensington Ct Pl > Turn left onto Thackeray St > Turn right onto Kensington Square > Turn left to stay on Kensington Square > Turn right onto Derry St > Turn left onto Kensington High St/A315 > Turn right onto Melbury Rd > Turn left onto Holland Park Rd, destination will be on the right
16 min (2.4 mi)

Leighton House Museum, 12 Holland Park Rd, Kensington, London W14 8LZ

Originally the studio home of Lord Leighton, President of the Royal Academy, the house is one of the most remarkable buildings of 19C. The museum houses an outstanding collection of high Victorian art, including works by Leighton himself.

Directions
Head north-east on Holland Park Rd towards St Mary Abbots Terrace > Turn right onto Melbury Rd > Turn left onto Kensington High St/A315 > Continue to follow A315 > Turn right onto Palace Gate/B325 > Continue to follow B325 > Turn left onto Queen's Gate Terrace, destination will be on the left
6 min (1.2 mi)

Embassy of Estonia, 44 Queen's Gate Terrace, South Kensington, London SW7 5PJ

Representing Neo-Classicist style characteristic of the mid-19C, many of the details of the house have been restored to their original splendour. The interior design is inspired by Estonian nature: swamps, lakes and forests.

Directions
Head east on Queen's Gate Terrace towards Gore St > Turn right onto Queen's Gate, destination will be on the left
2 min (0.3 mi)

Dana Research Centre and Library, 165 Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London SW7 5HD

A world-class environment for academic research into the Museum's collections. A double layer of steel-perforated panels lines the double-height glazing that dominates the reading room, dappling sunlight to create an inspirational space.

Directions
Head south on Queen's Gate towards Museum Ln > Turn left onto Cromwell Rd/A4 > Continue to follow A4, destination will be on the right
2 min (0.4 mi)

Ismaili Centre, London, 1-7 Cromwell Gardens, South Kensington, London SW7 2SL

Part of an international family of Ismaili Centres, a religious, cultural and social space for the Shia Ismaili Muslim community. The serenity of the entrance fountain to the roof garden reflects Muslim traditions in architecture and design

Directions
Head west on Cromwell Gardens/A4 towards Exhibition Rd > Turn left onto Exhibition Rd > Turn right onto Thurloe St, destination will be on the left
1 min (0.1 mi)

South Kensington Station, Pelham St, South Kensington, London SW7 2NB

Head north on Cromwell Pl/A3218 towards Thurloe St > Turn left onto Cromwell Mews, destination will be on the right
11 s (187 ft)

Institut Français du Royaume Uni, 17 Queensbery Pl, Kensington, London SW7 2DT

1939 Art Deco Grade II listed building refurbished in 1950, then restructured and modernised in 2014. Contains an authentically classic cinema, private salons and multimedia library.

Directions
Head east on Cromwell Mews towards Cromwell Pl/A3218 > Turn left onto Cromwell Pl/A3218 > Turn left onto Cromwell Pl > Turn right onto Cromwell Rd/A4 > Turn left onto Exhibition Rd > Go through 1 roundabout > Continue onto W Carriage Dr > Turn left > Turn right, then walk your bicycle
7 min (0.8 mi)

End at Serpentine Gallery, London W2 3XA

Ride 2

Start: Trellick Tower
Walmer Yard
Silchester Estate
Kensal House Estate
Westbourne Park Road
The Coronet, Notting Hill
Embassy of Slovakia
Finish: Stafford Terrace

11km

Trellick Tower, London

Goldfinger's 31-storey built as social housing and now one of London's most desirable addresses. Monumental in style, with its free-standing service tower and surreal boiler house, it retains beautiful detailing and a rich use of materials.

Directions
Head north-west towards Golborne Rd > Turn left onto Golborne Rd > Go through 1 roundabout > Continue onto Chesterton Rd > Turn left onto Ladbroke Grove/B450 > Turn right onto Blenheim Cres > Turn right onto Clarendon Rd > Turn left towards Walmer Rd > Turn left onto Walmer Rd
6 min (1.1 mi)

Walmer Yard, 235, 239 Walmer Rd, Notting Hill, London W11 4EY

Forming a discreet and private set of four interlocking houses set around an open courtyard, Walmer Yard is Peter Salter's only UK project. The houses now form the home of the Baylight Foundation.

Directions
Head north on Walmer Rd towards Runcorn Pl > Turn left onto Bomore Rd > Turn right > Turn right towards Silchester Rd > Turn left onto Silchester Rd > Turn left onto Bramley Rd > Turn right onto Waynflete Square > Turn left, destination will be on the right
2 min (0.5 mi)

Silchester Estate, Shalfleet Dr, London

New development of 112 mixed tenure homes, community and retail facilities delivered by Peabody and RBKC. Designed around a communal garden and integrating an existing 20-storey tower within a new urban block. Sculpture by Nathan Coley.

Directions
Head east towards Waynflete Square > Turn right onto Waynflete Square > Turn left onto Bramley Rd > Turn right onto Silchester Rd > Continue onto Lancaster Rd > Turn left onto Ladbroke Grove/B450 > Go through 1 roundabout, destination will be on the left
7 min (1.2 mi)

Kensal House, Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington, London W10 5BQ

Grade II* listed community rooms 10 mins from Grenfell Tower and home to SPID. Designed in 1937 by architect Maxwell Fry and social reformer Elizabeth Denby, it is part of an urban village vision for estate life.

Directions
Head south on Ladbroke Grove/B450 > Go through 1 roundabout > Turn left onto Westbourne Park Rd/B412
6 min (1.1 mi)

Westbourne Park Rd, London

New building as an urban accent - two independent houses atop each other. Contemporary in design it draws from the tectonic composition of adjacent Victorian houses. Features include rain water harvesting, roof garden, solar water heating.

Directions
Head south-west on Westbourne Park Rd/B412 towards Leamington Rd Villas > Turn left onto Ledbury Rd > Turn right onto Colville Terrace > Turn left onto Colville Rd > Turn right onto Westbourne Grove > Turn left onto Kensington Park Rd/B415 > At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Pembridge Rd/A4206 > Turn right onto Notting Hill Gate/A402, destination will be on the left
6 min (1.1 mi)

The Coronet Theatre, 103 Notting Hill Gate, Kensington, London W11 3LB

The Coronet Theatre is a risk-taking international theatre in an iconic Grade II listed building in London’s Notting Hill. It was designed in 1898 by WGR Sprague, architect of many of the West End's most beautiful theatres.

Directions
Head west on Notting Hill Gate/A402 > Make a U-turn > Turn right onto Kensington Palace Gardens > Restricted-usage road, destination will be on the right
5 min (0.3 mi)

Embassy of Slovakia, 25 Kensington Palace Gardens, Kensington, London W8 4QY

Modern Brutalist-style building awarded by RIBA in 1971. The building of the former Czechoslovak Embassy is made of reinforced concrete panels and long glass rows of windows with wooden partitions separating the interior spaces.

Directions
Head south on Kensington Palace Gardens towards Palace Garden Mews > Restricted-usage road > Turn right onto York House Pl > Restricted-usage road > Slight left to stay on York House Pl > Restricted-usage road > Turn left onto Kensington Church St/A4204 > Turn right onto Holland St > Turn left onto Hornton St > Turn right onto Phillimore Walk > Turn right onto Phillimore Gardens > Turn right onto Stafford Terrace
6 min (1.1 mi)

End at 18 Stafford Terrace, Kensington, London

From 1875, the home of the Punch cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne, his wife Marion, their two children and their live-in servants. The house is recognised as the best surviving example of a late Victorian middle-class home in the UK.