Kyoto Garden

The lowdown

Tucked inside Holland Park is a garden that feels a very long way from west London. The Kyoto Garden was a gift from the city of Kyoto in 1991, built by Japanese gardeners, and it is the real thing, a tiered pond fed by a stepped waterfall, stone lanterns, clipped maples and carp drifting under the surface.

It is small, which is the point. You walk a slow loop across stepping stones and over little bridges, the traffic noise gone, and in autumn the acers turn flame red and the whole place looks like a postcard. The peacocks that roam Holland Park wander straight through it, entirely unbothered, and will happily pose on a lantern for you.

Best of all it is completely free, as is the rest of Holland Park around it, woodland walks, the Dutch Garden, the Fukushima Garden next door. You could spend a whole calm morning here without spending a penny, a few minutes from the shops of Kensington High Street.