A Walk From South Kensington To Battersea Power Station

There are lots of reasons why you might find yourself in South Kensington.

The Natural History Museum and Science Museum are here, together with the Victoria & Albert Museum.

If you visited the museums you may have arrived early to beat the crowds and are looking for somewhere to have lunch. South Kensington is a great place for lunch.

You may be looking for somewhere to walk to after lunch, or you might be looking for a walk before lunch.

Battersea Power Station is a great place to visit, and it’s really nice walk from South Kensington.

So what is there to do at Battersea Power Station?

Battersea Power Station hasn’t actually been generating power since the 1970s.

I used to pass it every day on the train to work when I lived in Putney in the 1990s, and I couldn’t understand why they didn’t just knock it down. The whole area around it looked like a derelict wasteland.

The only thing I could think of that might have saved it was its appearance on the cover of Pink Floyd’s Animals album (with a pig floating above it). It also looked quite cool with its four chimneys.

I kept hearing that the power station was going to be developed into something like apartments or a shopping centre, but it never seemed to happen.

Well, it has now.

Battersea Power Station has now been developed into a shopping and leisure destination. The inside, where the generators used to be, now contains shops, cafes and restaurants.

In addition, the whole area around the power station has been developed, with more shops and restaurants. The platform where coal used to be delivered is now a cool leisure area where you can get drinks and food.

So, Battersea Power Station is well worth a visit, so how do you walk there from South Kensington?

Start Point – South Kensington Underground Station

We will use South Kensington Underground Station as the starting point for this walk.

We need to head south from there, so the first landmark below (Bela Bartok Statue) should help to find the right way to go.

Bela Bartok Memorial Statue – Old Brompton Road

It’s quite easy to wander off in the wrong direction when starting a walk in London (I’ve done it numerous times), the first landmark to look for is the statue commemorating the composer, Bela Bartok.

The statue is very helpfully facing in the direction you want to go, which is down Old Brompton Road.

You pass Onslow Square on the right before the name of the street changes to Sydney Place.

If you were interested by the Bela Bartok statue, then on the left, just at the point where Onslow Square becomes Sydney Place you can find the house where he stayed while in London (marked with a blue plaque).

Fulham Road – Turn Right

At the end of Sidney Place you meet Fulham Road. Cross over (the other side of the road is more interesting) and turn right. Walk past a few shops before turning left into Sydney Street.

Sydney Street, Chelsea – Walk to the End

As you turn into Sydney Street you are entering the Chelsea neighbourhood, which continues all the way down to the river Thames, which is where we are heading.

The first part of Sydney Street has smart townhouses on either side. As you reach the end of this first section you pass the Royal Brompton Hospital on the right and the Parish Church of St Luke Chelsea on the left.

After the hospital and church the smart townhouses reappear on either side of the street. Towards the end of Sydney Street on the right-hand side there are a couple of places that you might want to visit, depending on the time of day.

Mezcalito and the Chelsea Gardener.

If it’s later in the day you might want to check out the Mexican Restaurant and Cocktail Bar – Mezcalito.

If it’s a little earlier, or you prefer something a little more restrained, there is a garden centre called the Chelsea Gardener, which has a nice cafe.

King’s Road – Turn Right

At the end of Sydney Street you reach the King’s Road. This was quite famous in the swinging sixties and was the place to go in Chelsea.

The King’s Road is still really popular today, with shops and restaurants further up to the left towards Sloane Square.

For this walk we are just going to cross over King’s Road (the other side is more interesting) and turn right.

Oakley Street – All the Way to the River

Walk past the shops and restaurants for around a hundred yards before turning left into Oakley Street. You will see Chelsea Fire Station on the other side of the road where you turn.

Follow Oakley Street all the way to the end, where you emerge onto the Chelsea Embankment, which runs along the river.

A couple of houses to look out for on the left-hand side as you walk down have blue plaques in honour of celebrated former residents.

About a hundred yards before you reach the end, on the left, is the house where Bob Marley lived when he was in London in the 1970s.

The third house from the end of the street (on the left) is where Captain Scott, the antarctic explorer, lived at the turn of the twentieth century.

As you walk towards the end of Oakley Street you will start to see the Albert Bridge appear in front of you.

Albert Bridge to Battersea Park

At the end of Oakley Street cross over and walk straight ahead onto the Albert Bridge.

The Albert Bridge is one of the prettiest bridges across the Thames. At night it is lit up, which makes driving across it seem quite exciting (I think so, anyway).

As you reach the other side of the river you will see Battersea Park on the left-hand side.

You will see a sign indicating the Riverside Walk, so enter the Park through the first entrance on the left (near the pedestrian crossing).

Battersea Park

Once inside the park, follow the footpath that runs alongside the south side of the Thames.

During the day the park is usually quite busy with people out walking or jogging.

After walking for a few minutes you will see the London Peace Pagoda next to the footpath. The Peace Pagoda was presented to London in 1984 by the founder of the Japanese Buddhist movement.

As you walk further along the riverside footpath you will see Chelsea Bridge crossing the river in the distance.

As you reach the end of the footpath in the park, follow it around along the side of the river and under Chelsea Bridge.

As you emerge from under the bridge you pass a hotel on the right and walk along the path to the next bridge, which is Grosvenor Bridge, a railway bridge.

Battersea Power Station

Again, follow the path under the bridge. As you emerge into the open, and walk along a little way, you will see that you have made it. Battersea Power Station is right in front of you.

I will probably write about things to do at Battersea Power Station, and places to go from here, later. But for now, it’s a fun destination at the end of a walk that I really enjoy.

Once you have finished at Battersea Power Station, if you don’t fancy walking anywhere else, there is a new London Underground station right behind the power station building.

The station was opened in 2021 and is on the Northern Line. Six stops will take you to Leicester Square, in the heart of London’s West End.

If you need to get back to South Kensington, change at Leicester Square and take the Piccadilly Line west to South Kensington.

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