Gallery - Iya London Walks

Skip to content

Home
About
Walks
- Guided London Walks
- Corporate walks
Askew Road
FAQ
Stories
Contact

Home
About
Walks
- Guided London Walks
- Corporate walks
Askew Road
FAQ
Stories
Contact

Home
About
Walks
- Guided London Walks
- Corporate walks
Askew Road
FAQ
Stories
Contact

Home
About
Walks
- Guided London Walks
- Corporate walks
Askew Road
FAQ
Stories
Contact

Gallery

Home
About
Walks
- Guided London Walks
- Corporate walks
Askew Road
FAQ
Stories
Contact

Home
About
Walks
- Guided London Walks
- Corporate walks
Askew Road
FAQ
Stories
Contact

Unveiling of blue plaque commemorating Louis Bruce, Hammersmith, 25 April 2023.

iya_london_walks

Unearthing London’s overlooked stories - walks & talks
Open City qualified guide
See info, tickets, books, and gift cards ⤵️

Happy New Year! I hope the start of your 2026 is

Happy New Year!

I hope the start of your 2026 isn’t as scary as the start of my 2025.

Anyway a disastrous start to a new year means things can only get better…

#IyaLondon

I’ve been busy researching the history of Askew Ro

I’ve been busy researching the history of Askew Road, W12, in recent months. All has finally come to fruition. Join us on Thursday 4 December at @askewgallery between 5 and 9pm for the launch of a new book Askew Road: Then and Now!!!

Whether you’re interested in musical, industrial, architectural, ecclesiastical or military history, there’s something here for you! Or maybe you just want to know a bit more about where you live.

The launch also gives you a second chance to see a fascinating exhibition of old and contemporary photos of the area. The curator is photographer and local resident, @harrietchallis

There’s no need to book. Just come along and say hello.

The book will be on sale at the event. Harriet and I will be signing your copies at 6pm and 8pm.

If you can’t attend, but would like to buy a copy, it will be on sale at various sites on Askew Road after the launch.

In 2024, Harriet Challis researched the Askew Road area at the Hammersmith & Fulham Local Studies & Archives to ﬁnd historical photos. Choosing a selection she then took contemporary photographs to match them as closely as possible. These were ﬁrst presented in an exhibition at Askew Gallery as part of the Askew Road Arts Festival 2024.

For this book Harriet has identified new photos. l have added a detailed text about the area’s history.

The book is beautifully designed by @starch_green and published by the Askew Road Association to help raise funds for the 2026 Askew Road Arts Festival.

Hoping to see some of you there. The event is generously sponsored by @philip.wooller and @stems_and_vines

@askewroad_w12 #IyaLondon

The 1910 Japan-British Exhibition at White City, L

The 1910 Japan-British Exhibition at White City, London, created two Japanese show gardens. White City still retains one of these gardens - the Garden of Peace.

Now a park, it’s the oldest publicly owned Japanese garden in the UK. The planting was renewed in 2010, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the exhibition.

The White City gardens inspired wealthy British people to create their own Japan-themed gardens, such as Tatton Park in Cheshire, Ewell Castle in Surrey, and Mount Ephraim in Kent.

For more information about these and other gardens, see Luke Schöppler “The Meiji Legacy: Gardens and Parks of Japan and Britain, 1850-1914” (2020).

#iyalondon

Don’t let me ever say again that I never win anyth

Don’t let me ever say again that I never win anything. Last Sunday I won a visit to the BT Tower in the Open House Festival ballot. I think my ancestors were on my side - my father, Olufunmilayo Emmanuel Oyediran, worked as a clerk for the telecommunications side of the Post Office. So I decided to wear some aso oke, handwoven Yoruba cloth, in his honour. I forgot to do the libation, however.

We knew this tower in my childhood as the Post Office Tower, London’s tallest building since 1964. It had a glamorous revolving restaurant. Top of the Tower served French cuisine, prepared by Butlin’s (see the menu in the fourth photo). But reassuringly you could get roast beef and trimmings for lunch on the weekends. Vegans and vegetarians would have had to make themselves happy with “les legumes”.

The BT Tower was eclipsed as London’s tallest building in 1980 when the NatWest Tower, now known as Tower 42, in the City of London was completed. You can see the latter glowing orange in the sunset in the third photo. You can see Senate House and the British Museum as well.

The visit took me back to another era. Who could imagine a government department, as the General Post Office was in 1964, now building and owning London’s tallest building?

Gratitude to @opencity_uk for this opportunity and to Frederique Cifuentes Morgan for coming along + the photos.

📸 @fredcifuentesmorgan Photos 1-3

#IyaLondon

This summer I’ve been leading monthly walks for Up

This summer I’ve been leading monthly walks for Upstream Nexus through the White City Innovation District (WCID) for people who work or study here.

The walk traces White City’s fascinating history as a huge Edwardian exhibition space and Olympics venue, created by a Hungarian impresario. It also explores White City’s transformation into a district where well-established local communities live alongside a thriving centre for science, creativity and enterprise.

WCID is anchored around Imperial’s White City campus. When complete, it’s estimated the campus will host over 25,000 students, staff, residents, workers and visitors.

We hope to be back with more WCID walks in spring 2026!

A guided walk is a great opportunity to take a break, interact informally with colleagues, and discover something new about the area where you work. All my walks can be adapted to create your own bespoke private tour.

I’ve led walks for universities like Imperial and the LSE, for companies like Autolus and ITV, and for charities like Planning Aid for London. I’ve even led a birthday party walk!

Message me any time, if you’d like me to help you develop a walk for your colleagues or friends.

📸 Television Centre. Courtesy of Prema Gurunathan, Upstream Nexus.

W12 is going to be buzzing with Open House Festiva

W12 is going to be buzzing with Open House Festival events next weekend.

Here’s some highlights:

Central Line Treasure Hunt celebrates the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Central London Railway (CLR), which we now know as the Central Line. It's designed to help people discover the architectural heritage along the original route running from Shepherd's Bush to Bank. This may help you on the hunt – the salvaged roundel from the original 1908 CLR station is now in Wood Lane Station!

Culture House - designed by the architectural practice Freehaus. It’s based in a former London County Council fire station. As well as being an events space, it houses the first permanent exhibition space for Somali artefacts curated by the Somali community. I highly recommend this calm, beautiful environment.

Greenside School - one of two primary schools designed by Erno Goldfinger. It also contains a restored mid century mural by Gordon Cullen. It’s one of W12’s three Grade II* listed buildings.

Tickets are still available to visit Koestler Arts Centre, which promotes participation in the arts by people in prisons and beyond. Designed by Container City, the building is a modern arts processing centre, gallery and office space built from shipping containers. The centre is next to Wormwood Scrubs Prison, where you can see W12’s two other Grade II* listed buildings – the prison gatehouse and, beyond the wall, the prison chapel. The best view of the chapel is from the Central Line.

Hoping you get a chance to enjoy the festival as much as I do, especially if it's your first time. Go to the website of @opencity_uk for more info about the festival.

Image 1 White City Underground Station
Image 2 Culture House
Image 3 Wormwood Scrubs Prison gatehouse
Image 4: Greenside School

It was lovely be part of the W12 Together Festival

It was lovely be part of the W12 Together Festival today, held right here in my community in White City and Shepherd’s Bush. Beautiful weather. Amazing people.

I’m excited to be doing a FREE walk for @awair_displays in W12 on Saturday 25 October. More info about how you can join us soon.

Home is where the heart is. ♥️

Big thanks to @w12together for organising a beautiful event.

📸 Maria Scott

#IyaLondon #White City #ShepherdsBush

This striking stained glass window is located at t

This striking stained glass window is located at the Polish Roman Catholic Church of St. Bobola in Shepherd’s Bush. It memorializes the Polish 1st Armoured Division which was commanded by General Stanislaw Maczek. Formed in Scotland, the division served in Normandy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany from 1944 onwards.

The Polish architect, Alexander Paul Klecki, designed the window, together with the modernist interior of this neo-Gothic church.

To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, I’ll be leading a walk about the impact of war on the Askew Road area, London W12, on Sunday 7 September. As well as marking the lives lost and property destroyed by war, the walk celebrates new assets created for the community after 1945, such as St. Bobola.

If you’d like to join the walk, please click the bottom link in my bio.

I’m proud to lead a walk “Designed to be forgotten

I’m proud to lead a walk “Designed to be forgotten: women in South Kensington” at the Open House Festival 2025.

For a few days each year, London feels a much more generous space. You are welcomed into homes, offices and all manner of institutions. I’m lucky enough to have won a ticket in the ballot to visit the BT Tower this year!

On my walk you’ll hear about the hidden contributions of Victorian women to the magnificent buildings of South Kensington, in particular the V&A and the Royal Albert Hall.

The walk also explores how women are represented very differently from men on the buildings and memorials of this internationally important arts and science district.

Walks take place on Tuesday 16 and Friday 19 September at 11am. See the link in my bio for more info. You can sign up through the Open House Festival website from midday on 20 August. Like all festival events, the walk is FREE.

📸 Europe by Joseph Durham, Memorial for the Exhibition of 1851.

#LondonHistory #thamesbarge #IyaLondon #lowerhalst

#LondonHistory #thamesbarge #IyaLondon #lowerhalstow #IyaLondon #londonstockbrick #kenthistory

Come and explore with me on the streets of West Lo

Come and explore with me on the streets of West London this summer. All my walks are ready for booking! They start at 11am when it's cooler...

Public housing from Old Oak to Wood Lane...

South Kensington and the 1851 Great Exhibition...

Imre Kiralfy and the hidden history of White City...

A one-off walk on the history of the Notting Hill Carnival.

👉 FIND the full summer programme at 1st link in my bio.

👉 BOOK at 2nd link in my bio.

👉 FOLLOW me for info on what I'll be up to at the Open House Festival in September.

Instagram post 18061502990225251

Instagram post 18061502990225251

I'm delighted to be back as a Community Partner fo

I'm delighted to be back as a Community Partner for the @exrdfestival on 7 and 8 June.

I'll be leading free 45-minute walks about Women's Hidden Histories in South Kensington at 1.30pm and 3.30pm on both days.

By the way, that's Prince Albert at the top of that monument, with four anonymous women below. What do they represent? Why do you find them all over South Kensington? Come and find out!

To attend you just need to turn up and register at the Great Exhibition Road Festival Tours tent. It's at the north end of Exhibition Road.

Tickets will be limited to 25 people.

And if you don't get on a walk there are plenty of other things to do and see at this amazing arts and science festival, including other walks! And everything is FREE.

Organizers asked me to highlight NextGen – a zone just for ages 13 – 25 years, coproduced by local young people.

You need to register with the festival to receive the latest updates and opportunities to book for popular events. Check out the info at the link in my bio.

📸 Victoria Flemington

What’s this doing in Sheffield? I was surprised t

What’s this doing in Sheffield?

I was surprised to find a terracotta pillar in Weston Park, Sheffield, that’s identical to those at the V&A in the Madejski Garden and at the Henry Cole Wing!!!

It turns out the Sheffield pillar is a memorial to Godfrey Sykes who came from these parts. He worked on the decoration of the museum in the 1860s.

The pillar depicts the three ages of man.

Sykes’ work was an important influence in the widespread adoption of terracotta decoration in Victorian Britain. I love it! Much better than a statue.

I was close to home in Wormwood Scrubs today for a

I was close to home in Wormwood Scrubs today for a lovely walk led by the Urban Herbalist, Roisin Reilly BSc, and Pan about the medicinal plants you can find there.

We didn’t walk very far because the Scrubs has so much biodiversity and so many different plants! Nettles, mugwort, daisies, hawthorn and dandelions all featured.

I grew to love Wormwood Scrubs during the COVID-19 lockdowns. It was the only wild place I could go to. And I could actually see a horizon.

At about 185 acres (75 hectares), the Scrubs is the biggest open space in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Its untamed nature is what appeals to me. It’s certainly NOT a park.

Since the nineteenth century this huge piece of common land at the north of the borough has been encroached on for development - e. g. a canal, various railways, the prison. I’m grateful to @friendsofthescrubs for safeguarding this precious open space, as well as organising the walk.

This striking stained glass window is located at t

This striking stained glass window is located at the Polish Roman Catholic Church of St. Bobola in Shepherd’s Bush. It memorializes General Anders, who commanded the Polish 2nd Corps during the fourth assault at the gruelling Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy in 1944.

General Anders’ funeral took place at St. Bobola in May 1970. He is buried with the hundreds of fallen soldiers he commanded at the Polish War Cemetery at Monte Cassino.

The Polish architect, Alexander Paul Klecki, designed the window, together with the modernist interior of this neo-Gothic church.

To mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, I’ll be leading a free walk for local residents about the impact of war on the Askew Road area on Sunday 11 May. As well as marking the lives lost and property destroyed by war, the walk celebrates new assets created for the community after 1945, such as St. Bobola.

The walk is sponsored by the Heritage Office at the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

Tickets are sold out, but if you’d like to join the walk later in the year, please sign up to my mailing list at the link in my bio.

Happy May Day! Did you know that Hammersmith gave

Happy May Day! Did you know that Hammersmith gave birth to a very early revolutionary Socialist organisation?

The Socialist League was formed on 30 December 1884, breaking away from the Democratic Federation.

William Morris, designer and Hammersmith resident, was a founder member, together with Eleanor Marx.

Meetings of the league's Hammersmith branch took place in the coach house of Kelmscott House, William Morris's residence on the riverside. League members were often to be seen on Sundays campaigning at Hammersmith Bridge.

Image 2: 19th Century; Anon, Hammersmith Socialist League including William Morris.

2025 marks 60 years since the dissolution of the L

2025 marks 60 years since the dissolution of the London County Council (LCC). Established in 1889, the LCC was the first democratically elected city-wide authority to govern the whole of Inner London.

I just attended an amazing conference about the LCC’s legacy, organized by Dr. Ruth Lang, Dr. Dawn Pereira and Dr. Rosamund Lily West and hosted by the London School of Architecture.

The conference made me think about the extraordinary range of social welfare facilities left behind by the LCC in my neighbourhood, Shepherd’s Bush. There's housing, a college, schools and parks.

Here are some highlights:

1. Hammersmith School of Building and Arts and Crafts, Lime Grove, 1905-6 and 1913. It’s now Grade II-listed.

2. The Old Oak Estate, one of the LCC’s first cottage estates, constructed just before and just after World War I. Its design is strongly influenced by the garden city movement with homes built in the arts and crafts style. It’s now a conservation area.

3. The White City Estate, the LCC’s most ambitious interwar flatted housing estate. It's the biggest estate in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

4. Greenside School, one of only two primary schools designed by the modernist architect, Erno Goldfinger. It contains a mural by the architect and urban designer, Gordon Cullen, and is Grade II*-listed.

5. Hammersmith Park, opened in 1953 and centred around a Japanese garden from the White City exhibition site, dating back to 1910.

6. Malabar Court, a small block designed in the 1960s by Noel Moffett and Alina Zofia Bolesławicz-Moffett for older people. The hexagonal shape became a hallmark of these architects, and was first introduced here. The design is inspired by the Giant’s Causeway.

What did the LCC leave behind in your manor?

Today we celebrated the achievements of Amy Ashwoo

Today we celebrated the achievements of Amy Ashwood Garvey, Pearl Prescod, Pansy Jeffrey, Claudia Jones, and Rhaune Laslett-O'Brien on a walk for Women's History Month in North Kensington.

We also saluted Joan Armatrading who recorded her second album, Back to the Night, at a turning point in her musical career at Basing Street Studios.

What's amazing about these women activists is how they networked and supported each other in their work and how they creatively used arts, culture and food to bring people together, not just to socialize, but to organize!

A big thanks to @instituteracerelations for documenting the life of Pearl Prescod and @nydiaswaby for her brilliant biography of Amy Ashwood Garvey.

📸 Images 1, 2 and 3 @johnryle

📸 Image 4 "Amy Ashwood Garvey (left) with two unidentified women on the steps of the Afro Women's Centre"
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1950 - 1969

Follow on Instagram

STAY IN TOUCH!

Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates

Email

@ 2026 Iya London