As mentioned elsewhere on this site, Kensington Palace was the home of the late Princess Diana. When she lived in the Palace, she was often seen in local shops and restaurants. As several of you have asked me about these, I have devised a short walk through Kensington that takes in some such places. The length of the walk is 1.5 miles (2.4km) and takes around an hour at a comfortable pace.<\/p>\n
Start at the main gate of Kensington Palace (1)<\/strong>. Facing it, turn left and walk straight ahead to the park exit. Turn on the left and walk down the private road (Palace Avenue<\/em>, Diana would daily drive from here as she was exiting the palace) into Kensington Palace Gardens, and then head south towards High Street Kensington. Turn right along it and walk ahead. Kensington Market (2) <\/strong>used to be situated here on your left (she visited this colourful place several times), but closed down a few years ago and part of it is a building development. Carry on up the High Street towards the Barkers Building (3)<\/strong> (she also shopped here), which has now become a Whole Foods.<\/p>\n Go further down the same side of the street and you come to Marks & Spencer (4) <\/strong>(she also shopped here regularly). Almost opposite it is McDonalds (5) <\/strong>(which she patronised with her sons, Princes William and Harry). Carry on on this side of the road for about 400 yards until you come to Phillimore Gardens <\/em>on your right. Here you will find the Patisserie Parisienne (6) <\/strong>(where she was sometimes spotted sitting outside and drinking cappuccino and keeping an eye on her car parked on a yellow line).<\/p>\n Opposite this is the Sticky Fingers Restaurant (7)<\/strong>, owned by former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman. Go back to High Street Kensington and cross over to the Kensington Odeon Cinema (8) <\/strong>(Diana would often take her sons to both places).<\/p>\n If tired you can end your walk here. But if you want to carry on, turn into Earl’s Court Road <\/em>and walk for about ten minutes until you pass the Underground Station. On the same side of the road you come to a Boots Chemist. On the first floor is the Earls Court Gym (9) <\/strong>(the nearby gym which Diana used). Keep going until you come to the corner of Old Brompton Road <\/em>and Redcliffe Gardens.<\/em> You see Brompton Medical Centre which is housed in a big apartment block called Coleherne Court (10)<\/strong>. Diana lived in an apartment here for a few years before she got married to Price Charles. This is the end of the walk and now you can retire to one of the nearby pubs or to the Troubadour Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n