Brown Hart Gardens
a garden on top of a power station
An unexpected raised stone garden in Mayfair, free, an Italianate terrace built right on top of a working Edwardian electricity substation, with a cafe and benches above the street.
Free to visit · Mayfair · Bond Street · W1K 6WP
Opening: Daily · 9am to dusk
Brown Hart Gardens is one of central London's strangest and most delightful free spaces. It is a raised Italianate stone terrace, complete with domed pavilions, sitting a full storey above the street, and it was built in 1906 directly on top of a working electricity substation that still hums away underneath.
The substation needed a roof, and the local estate insisted it be something better than an industrial box, so this elegant paved garden was created on top of it. For decades it was a forgotten curiosity, but a refurbishment added planters, seating and a little cafe, and it is once again a lovely place to pause.
It is free, raised above the bustle, and almost nobody stumbles on it by accident. A genuinely odd and charming spot to rest your feet between the shops of Oxford Street and the grandeur of Mayfair.
Getting there: Off Duke Street in Mayfair, a few minutes from Bond Street or Marble Arch.
Best time to go: A weekday for a quiet coffee above the street, or a sunny lunchtime when the paved terrace catches the light.
Insider tip: Climb the steps up from Duke Street, most people walk straight past at street level without realising there is a whole garden on the roof above them. The cafe makes it an easy, quiet stop between Oxford Street and Mayfair.
Official site: https://brownhartgardens.co.uk
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide