Spring is the perfect time to explore London’s beautiful parks and gardens. One of the best places to start is the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew (better known as Kew Gardens), a UNESCO World Heritage site housing over 68,000 plants from around the world in its magnificent gardens and stunning glass houses. The gardens are particularly beautiful in the spring when the cherry blossoms and magnolias are in bloom. But even if you don’t make a trip to Kew Gardens, throughout spring and summer you’ll find bright and perfumed floral blooms across London’s streets. Whether it’s the daffodils in St James’s Park, the roses of Chelsea Physic Garden, the crocuses of Wimbledon Common or the wisteria that adorns many of London’s historic houses, you’re spoilt for choice. For fans of floral decadence, a visit to London in spring means only one thing: The Chelsea Flower Show, which brings together world-renowned garden designers, plant specialists and florists to stage one of the most prestigious horticultural events in the world. Make sure to wear your finest garden-party outfits (see how many designer hats you can spy) for a day of scented walking, healthy eating and luxurious shopping. If you are tired out then we recommend a truly relaxing day just lounging in Hyde Park, one of the largest Royal Parks in London. In the spring, the park is filled with colourful flowers and blossom trees, making it the perfect place for a picnic or a leisurely stroll.

With a history that dates back centuries, Mayfair is a warren of intersecting streets, each with its own story. As E. Beresford Chancellor puts it in Wanderings in London, Piccadilly, Mayfair, and Pall Mall: “it is an extensive and intricate area, and a summer’s day might well be exhausted before we had investigated all the twists and turns of its maze-like complexity.”

South Molton Street’s history can be traced back to 1721 when it was first developed as part of Sir Thomas Grosvenor’s creation of Mayfair, marking the edge of the Mayfair estate along the course of the Tyburn River, which now runs underneath the street. Its current form appears on maps during the development of The Conduit Mead Estate, a slice of land with a spring that offered fresh drinking water for residents. Keep a look out for South Molton Lane, once known as Shug Lane. Alluding to the archaic word ‘shug’ meaning ‘to crawl’ or ‘to sneak’, the street’s original name hints at its storied past. 

Today South Molton Street is a fashionable shopping destination, but during the 1800s the area was occupied by printers, saddle makers and wax chandlers. It underwent extensive rebuilding around 1900, resulting in a blend of Georgian and Victorian architecture, giving a delightful backdrop for amblers, ramblers, shoppers and sightseers.

Though the history of tea stretches all the way back to the third millennium BC, it only arrived on British shores in the 1660s, becoming a staple in the court of King Charles II. It was a whole two centuries later that Ann Russell, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, made hot drink history when she sought a way to combat the “sinking feeling” she felt awaiting the serving of dinner at 8 pm. Or so the story goes. What began as light refreshments delivered to her quarters gained in popularity as she began to invite friends to join her for her innovative afternoon teas. Over the centuries, the ritual has become woven into the very fabric of British identity. Today, the menu traditionally features an array of finger sandwiches, pastries, the customary scone, and often a celebratory glass of Champagne.

Mount Street derives its name from Oliver’s Mount, remnants of fortifications erected during the English Civil War in the seventeenth century. Oliver’s Mount gave its name to a number of streets and buildings in the area including Mount Street and the Mount Coffee House during Mayfair’s development by master builders in the early eighteenth century. Mount Street Gardens, located nearby, originally served as a burial ground for St James’s Parish but was closed in the 1850s. In the late nineteenth century, the first Duke of Westminster oversaw the reconstruction of the street, outfitting it with the intricately detailed Queen Anne revival style architecture favoured at the time. This architectural heritage has been diligently preserved, maintaining the street’s historic charm.