Chiswick: west side glory

Next time you’re in London, skip the obvious sights and visit the suburban splendour of Chiswick. Yes, I’m serious, says Bryan Appleyard
a riverside pint along Strand-on-the-Green (Alamy)
a riverside pint along Strand-on-the-Green (Alamy)

See an interactive map of all our Chiswick hotspots here

To the tourist eye, London is tripolar. It consists of the City, Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea. Beyond these narrow, pricy territories lies a dark maze of sinister names — Crouch End and Tooting Bec, Neasden and Penge. Fearful, the tourists buy their floppy Union Jack hats and do not explore further.

This is good news, because it leaves Chiswick — London’s fourth great pole — untouched. Chiswick was a mystery to me too until, some years ago, driving west from Shepherd’s Bush, I suddenly found myself in a little architectural paradise, which I later discovered was called Bedford Park. I was so thrilled, I wrote a novel about this one small and very precious