Chiswick: Top 12 tips by an (almost) local

Lovebox and Citadel Festivals are coming back to Gunnersbury Park this month. It was a year ago when both festivals relocated from Victoria Park in the East End of London to the lesser-known Gunnersbury Park in West London. Since Gunnersbury Park is located in the London Borough of Hounslow between Acton, Brentford, Chiswick and Ealing, the relocation of the festivals helped put these districts on the map.

 

As a local to this part of the capital (I live in Brentford, in the London Borough of Hounslow), I am very familiar with Chiswick and Ealing, and this week I will be sharing my top tips for the former (my top tips for Ealing will follow next week).

 

 

Let’s start with Chiswick, which, like Gunnersbury Park and Brentford, is also located in the London Borough of Hounslow. To the south, the River Thames forms the southern boundary with the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and specifically the districts Kew, North Sheen, Mortlake and Barnes (Richmond is further away to the southwest). In the east, Chiswick borders Hammersmith, and, in the north, is Acton (in the London Borough of Ealing). To the west, are the Gunnersbury Park and Brentford.

 

To get to Chiswick, you can take the District line and get off at Stamford Brook, Turnham Green, Chiswick Park, or Gunnersbury stations. Alternatively, you can take the train from Waterloo and get off at Chiswick, or Kew Bridge train stations.

 

 

So, here are my top 12 tips for Chiswick:

 

1. Lovebox, at Gunnersbury Park (Acton Town station)

 

Launched in 2002, Lovebox is a two-day music festival taking place on 12^th and 13^th July 2019 in the Gunnersbury Park. Even though Lovebox started out as a dance festival, it now includes other musical genres, such as R&B, hip-hop and rap. In fact, Solange is the headliner on Friday, while Chance the Rapper headlines on Saturday.

 

 

Gunnersbury Park is a few minutes walk from Acton Town station (Piccadilly line). Gunnersbury (District line and Overground) and Kew Bridge stations are also within walking distance.

 

2. Citadel, at Gunnersbury Park (Acton Town station)

 

Citadel has been running since 2015, and this year takes place on 14^th July 2019, also in the Gunnersbury Park. Unlike Lovebox, most artists performing in Citadel are indie rock and British. This year the line-up includes Catfish and the Bottlemen, Bastille, and Friendly Fires. As well as the music, there will also be talks, debates, workshops, and activities such as yoga.

 

 

3. Gunnersville Festival, at Gunnersbury Park (Acton Town station)

 

Lovebox and Citadel aside, there’s also Gunnersville Festival, a brand new festival scheduled to take place between the 6^th and the 8^th September 2019 in Gunnersbury Park. It will be headlined by Doves, The Specials and You Me At Six. There will also be other indie rock bands (both British and international) playing, such as Jimmy Eat World and Deaf Havana.

 

 

4. Other activities at Gunnersbury Park (Acton Town station)

 

Of course, these music festivals are not the only reason worth visiting the Gunnersbury Park. The park, which is jointly managed by Hounslow and Ealing Borough councils, is home to two Georgian mansions, a museum (open from Tuesday to Sunday; free entry), a café (open daily from 08:00 to 18:00), and beautiful parkland. Special events and activities also take place, such as creative writing workshops, and the ‘Hidden Garden Haiku’ walkshop.

 

 

5. Chiswick House & Gardens (Chiswick train station)

 

Gunnersbury Park is not the only park worth visiting in Chiswick. There’s also Chiswick House & Gardens (not to be confused with Chiswick Park, which, despite its name, is not a park actually). Here you can admire Lord Burlington’s 18^th-century villa, have a coffee at the nearby café, and then stroll in the gardens. Or, you can join the special activities and events due this summer. These include a temporary open-air cinema (the Luna Cinema; 23rd – 25th July 2019), Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place Festival (expect workshops and talks; 3rd – 4th August 2019), and the Chiswick Book Festival (12^th September 2019).

 

 

Chiswick train station is the nearest to the park.

 

6. Turnham Green and Rhythm & Brews (Chiswick Park station)

 

Turnham Green is another park in Chiswick. On the eastern half of the park, there’s the impressive neo-Gothic Christ Church.

 

 

Overlooking the park and the church is my favorite café in Chiswick: Rhythm & Brews.

 

The inside of the café is as cozy as its front is inviting. Framed vinyl records, a guitar, and artists’ photographs and posters decorate the tiled walls. John Lennon is staring at the customers behind his round glasses. Black is the dominant color; yet the space is luminous thanks to a large number of lamps hanging from the ceiling as well as the floor-to-ceiling window by the main entrance. There are also several LP racks and the customers are encouraged to flip through the stacked records, and choose their soundtrack to their brunch (unless of course there is live music, usually on Sunday evenings). Talking of brunch, the menu is excellent. I usually order smashed avocado on toast, topped with a poached egg, dukkah and feta cheese, as well as an acai bowl; they both come with edible flowers.

 

 

Turnham Green and Rhythm & Brews are only a short walk away from Chiswick Park station (District line).

 

7. Tamp and Chief Coffee (Turnham Green station)

 

Another café serving excellent brunch, Tamp Coffee is my alternative to Rhythm and Brews. It has actually made it to the London Coffee Guide, my go-to guide for the best independent coffee shops in the city. It is usually busy with young customers typing on their laptops (I am one of them). Located on Devonshire Road, it is within walking distance from Turnham Green station (District line).

 

 

Chief Coffee is the second Chiswick café to be featured in the London Coffee Guide. It is situated in a mews around the corner from the Turnham Green station.

 

8. Ozwald Copplepot (Gunnersbury station)

 

As you exit the Gunnersbury station (District line and Overground), you’ll come across this characterful corner café, opened last year. I usually enjoy their ‘Villainously Good Coffee’ with one of the books on the shelves.

 

 

9. Artisan (Stamford Brook station)

 

Although the Stamford Brook branch of this small West London chain (they also have branches in Ealing, Putney and East Sheen) is not technically located in Chiswick, I have included here because it is literally on the border with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (and also because it is one of my favorite cafés in the area). It is about a minute walk from Stamford Brook station (District line). It is the perfect destination for brunch or a light lunch; the only problem is I always find hard to choose what to order.

 

 

10. The Coffee Traveller (Kew Bridge train station)

 

Strand-on-the-Green is my favorite part of Chiswick; it is located to the east of Kew Bridge, along the north bank of the river, and is within walking distance from Kew Bridge train station. Whilst taking a leisurely stroll along the river, I once noticed a bicycle with a sign to the Coffee Traveller. Since then, I have been a regular customer to this small café on Thames Road. Even though, unlike the pubs, it does not face the river, it has become one of my favorite cafés in Chiswick. It is ideally located for a light lunch before an afternoon pub-crawl.

 

 

11. The Strand-on-the-Green pubs (Kew Bridge train station)

 

There are three historical pubs on the riverside, all dating back to the 18^th century. Moving downstream (from west to east), these are: the Bell & Crown, the City Barge, and the Bull’s Head. On a sunny and warm day, you can enjoy a pint outdoors right by the river. Or, you can have a meal instead; they all have cozy interiors. They are within walking distance from Kew Bridge train station.

 

 

12. The Fire Station (Turnham Green station)

 

Back to Chiswick High Road, there’s Roebuck (a spacious pub with a garden in the back), the Police Station, and also the No 197 Chiswick Fire Station. The latter is an all-day café-restaurant-bar housed, as the name suggests, in a former fire station. One of my favorite bars, the speakeasy Evans & Peel Pharmacy, on Devonshire Road (round the corner from the Fire Station) has unfortunately closed recently (however, Evans & Peel Detective Agency, in Chelsea, near Earl’s Court station is open).

 

 

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Happy reading!

 

Alex

 

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)