Hammersmith

Weather - Sunny and cloudy, getting warmer - Min 13, Max 19

We are so lucky to be in London this week as the Chelsea Flower Show and the Chelsea in Bloom festivals are on. The flower show organised by the Royal Horticultural Society is a ticketed event and it sold out quite some time ago. However, the Chelsea in Bloom and Belgravia in Bloom are free events being held in their upmarket streets at the same time as the show. Shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels are particiapting and it attracts thousands of people over the seven day event. 

We arrived at 9.15am as the advice was to arrive early to avoid the crowds. It was good advice as by midday it was difficult to walk on the footpaths and see the displays. We could have taken one of the many decorated rickshaws to take us around the streets and they were free too!

We firstly walked down the very long King St in Chelsea and every shop window and corner was a photo opportunity. I couldn’t stop taking photos. Half way down the street we took a break for a coffee and a decadent cake. 

The Chelsea in Bloom’s 2026 theme was ‘Out of This World’ and whilst not all stuck to the theme quite a few took up the challenge and they were truly out of this world. The displays were made up of fresh and dried flowers and artificial flowers. 

Cartier’s shopfront was stylish as one would expect whilst others were zany, pretty and quirky. 

The Cadogan Hotel in Sloane St is where Oscar Wilde, a long time resident of Chelsea, was arrested and sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour with the infamous quote from the court case, “…the love that dare not speak its name.” Nearby in Dovehouse Green is a sculpture of Wilde’s head by the sculptor Paolozzi. 

Despite Belgravia being one street away from Chelsea there was a different theme, ‘Fariy tales of Belgravia’. There were many petty, pastel coloured displays.

By noon it was time to retreat for lunch as there were so many people viewing the displays. After a tasty asparagus soup in one of Belgravia’s decorated cafes we caught the bus to to visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker St, Marylebone. It is one of London’s famous addresses and is located in an early 19th century restored four-storey Victorian house. We had to wait for about 20 mins before being allowed in and in stark contrast to yesterday 

Oddly, the guides treated Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson as if they were real people as they described the recreated rooms including Sherlock’s combined office and reception room. 

The gift shop had such an array of goods including Harris Tweed deerstalker hats, magnifying glasses, miniature violins, jigsaws and murder mystery books.

Dinner was at our ‘local’ the ‘Blue Anchor’. Being a Wednesday night we thought it wouldn’t be busy but as a shower had gone across everyone had taken themselves from the outside picnic tables to inside. We had to wait in the bar for 15 mins for a table. When we emerged from the inner dining room after a tasty dinner we found everyone had returned to the outside to make the most of the lovely sunny evening. It was a good example how changeable the weather is. We now have only three more full days of sightseeing to go before we head for home.