Kensington Palace and Gardens – Serpentine Bridge loop from Notting Hill Gate

00:36

5.73km

30m

Running

Moderate run. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: July 28, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

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1.26 km

Statue of Queen Victoria

Highlight • Monument

The statue of Queen Victoria is right in front of Kensington Palace. This dates from 1893 and comes from Victoria's fourth daughter Princess Louise.

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1.30 km

One of the Royal Parks of London, Kensington Gardens was originally the private garden of the palace. Today it's a vast area of green space and links together with St James' Park and Green Park.

The gardens are fenced, unlike some of the other parks, and only open during daylight hours. There are more formal aspects to the gardens than other parks and they were once park of Hyde Park. The Italian Garden is one of the most curated areas, with its fountains and classical statues. The gardens are free to enter.

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2.16 km

Albert Memorial, Kensington Gardens

Highlight • Monument

When Prince Albert died on 14 December 1861, at the age of 42, the thoughts of those in government and public life turned to the form and shape of a suitable memorial, with several possibilities, such as establishing a university or international scholarships, being mentioned. Queen Victoria, however, soon made it clear that she desired a memorial "in the common sense of the word". The initiative was taken by the Lord Mayor of London, William Cubitt, who, at a meeting on 14 January 1862, appointed a committee to raise funds for a design to be approved by the Queen. The control and future course of the project, though, moved away from Mansion House, and ended up being controlled by people close to the Queen, rather than the Mayor. Those who determined the overall direction from that point on were the Queen's secretary, General Charles Grey, and the keeper of the privy purse, Sir Charles Phipps. Later, following the deaths of Grey and Phipps, their roles were taken on by Sir Henry Ponsonby and Sir Thomas Biddulph. Eventually, a four-man steering committee was established, led by Sir Charles Lock Eastlake. Eastlake had overall control for the project until his death in 1865. An initial proposal for an obelisk memorial failed, and this was followed in May 1862 by the appointment of a seven-strong committee of architects. A range of designs were submitted and examined. Two of the designs (those by Philip Charles Hardwick and George Gilbert Scott) were passed to the Queen in February 1863 for a final decision to be made. Two months later, after lengthy deliberations and negotiations with the government over the costs of the memorial, Scott's design was formally approved in April 1863.

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Memorial)

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