Open House: Saturday

It's been a number of years since I was last in London for Open House, an annual September event during which over 800 venues are open across the capital. It's a fantastic opportunity to see the inside of buildings normally not open to the public or to go on special tours to learn about the unique architecture of sites. I do my research well, choose my destinations, make an index card for each, put them in order and plan the transport route from one to the next.

Armed with my stack of index cards, I headed to the first venue, a home and studio near Brondesbury station, stopping in the cafe in the middle of Queen's Park (the actual park) for something to eat on the way, and was the first to arrive at the gate at ten minutes to ten. I was soon joined by a woman wearing an Open House volunteer name tag and her husband. We chatted a bit and then we're confronted by a snotty youth demanding to know why we were standing in front of his house. The woman explained that we were there for Open House. He kept insisting that the house was not open and finally said that his parents changed their plans and it would be open only on Sunday. I'm guessing that the bratty attitude is a case of the apple not falling far from the tree.

The rest of the day went much better. I did one residence/studio near my Airbnb myself and Molly then caught me up for the rest. Here's what I saw:

• Studio McLeod in Kilburn Lane, an architect's studio and residence that made amazing use of a small space, even finding places to conceal and store three motorcycles.
• Simon Court in Saltram Crescent, where we saw a small flat in a converted Victorian church.
• 264 Westbourne Park Road, two contemporary houses built one atop the other on what had been a small corner of derelict land. We were the last people admitted for the last tour of the day. The architect/owner/occupant showed us most of the house and explained his design and the construction. It was a great tour.
• Royal Albert Hall. As I'm not sure if I'll be able to attend a concert here anytime soon, this was a good opportunity for hoi polloi like me to see it.
• Holy Trinity Church in Sloane Street, with lots of Art and Crafts elements. 
• Moravian Close, just off the King's Road, on a site dating back to Tudor times, where there's a more recent Moravian burial ground and chapel. I need to do more reading about this spot (we missed the talk).
• We walked down to Cadogan Pier, where there was supposed to be an exhibition of art made from bits and bobs found on the foreshore, but it wasn't there. (This was something I read about on the Totally Thames website, not an Open House venue.)
• Sambourne House at 18 Stafford Terrace in Holland Park. Again, we got there in the nick of time to be among the last people admitted. This is said to be the best surviving late Victorian middle-class home in the UK, and I'd had it on my spreadsheet for ages but had never managed to get to it on one of the days that it's open each week. It was totally rammed with people, but we got to see most of the rooms.

Much in need of a drink, we stopped at the Elephant and Castle, a nearby neibourhood pub, for bevvies and nibbles. Next, it was back to Queen's Park for a pub meal at the Salusbury to end a long and full day.

So, seven venues seen, two closed or missing, and two index cards skipped. All told, a highly successful day.

Stats:

2 pounds for pastry in the park caff

2 pounds 86 for meal deal for Tesco (eaten in a park off the Portobello Road)

1 quid for pamphlet about Holy Trinity Church

2 pounds 35 for half pint of beer

20 pounds for pub meal

25019 steps

10.28 miles