Maida Vale After Dark

Good to know.

• Check and preferably book the current NewsRevue performance before setting out; its material and cast change regularly.
• Reserve Prince Alfred if dinner timing matters, and confirm its current kitchen hours.
• The Warwick Castle fireplace may not be lit, even in cold weather.
• Canal Cafe Theatre is upstairs and is not wheelchair-accessible; this route is not step-free.

Last walked.

Walked in person by Slightly Elsewhere. The order of the rooms matters here: Prince Alfred for dinner, the far-left room at the Warwick Castle for the fireplace, then back into the dark for Little Venice and the small theatre upstairs. Live opening, fire, food and performance details can still change.

No field notes from readers yet — share one if you walk it.

Start without guessing.

Open the whole walk (opens in a new tab)

Use live walking directions at street crossings and check each venue before setting out. The route is paved and gentle, but Canal Cafe Theatre is reached by stairs and is not a step-free finish. Pub fires, kitchens, events and performance times are never guaranteed.

We never ask for your location.

Quiet streets, over-decorated old rooms, then canal water and a comedy show small enough to remain slightly improbable.

Start with enough light to see why the houses are part of the walk: stucco fronts, crescents, tall windows and later red-brick mansion blocks. Then let Maida Vale alternate between polished residential history and rooms that are much more ornate than they need to be. Prince Alfred is the dinner, Warwick Castle is the fire, and neither needs to become a crawl. Outside again, Duffy, a green cabmen’s shelter and a few cultural footnotes carry the route to Little Venice. The water gives you ten quiet minutes before NewsRevue closes the evening upstairs. Paddington waits beyond it, large and practical.

Who it suits, and who it does not.

• A date that needs things to notice but room to talk
• An evening walk for someone who already knows central London
• Cold weather, when the fireplaces become part of the route

Not ideal for

• Anyone looking for a pub crawl
• A step-free evening
• A plan that cannot tolerate checking a theatre and dinner booking

Not a grand Little Venice tour and not three compulsory drinks in sequence. The pubs are here for their rooms, with alcohol entirely optional.

Optional before you commit.

The route.

1. Maida Vale station – look back before leaving

   start · 5 min · 10–15 min to next

   Elgin Avenue, London W9 1JS

   From the start Begin outside the station. Look back at the tiled façade, then leave the main road for the quieter streets leading towards Lauderdale Road.

   The early-20th-century Underground entrance already feels more decorative than it strictly needs to. Give it one glance, then let the houses take over; this is an opening note, not a transport-history lecture.

   Walk here from the station to Maida Vale station – look back before leaving (opens in a new tab)Official information for Maida Vale station – look back before leaving (opens in a new tab)

2. Lauderdale Road – architecture and two small footnotes

   walk · 20–30 min · 8–12 min to next

   Lauderdale Road and Ashworth Road, London W9

   From the previous stop Use Elgin Avenue only as needed, then weave through the residential streets to Lauderdale Road and the synagogue before continuing towards Warrington Crescent.

   Stucco villas, porticos, sash windows and later red-brick mansion blocks are the point of this section. The Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue is a brief architectural contrast. Somewhere among the Lauderdale Mansions, Alec Guinness entered the world long before becoming Obi-Wan Kenobi.

   Walk from the previous stop to Lauderdale Road – architecture and two small footnotes (opens in a new tab)Official information for Lauderdale Road – architecture and two small footnotes (opens in a new tab)

3. Warrington Crescent – Alan Turing’s birthplace

   view · 5–10 min · 5 min to next

   2 Warrington Crescent, London W9 1ER

   From the previous stop Continue south-west to Warrington Crescent and look for the blue plaque at number 2; remain on the pavement and treat it as a waypoint, not a gathering place.

   One building on this very polished crescent has a less decorative claim to fame: Alan Turing was born here in 1912, when it was a nursing home. That contrast is enough; the route does not need his full biography.

   Walk from the previous stop to Warrington Crescent – Alan Turing’s birthplace (opens in a new tab)Official information for Warrington Crescent – Alan Turing’s birthplace (opens in a new tab)

4. Prince Alfred – dinner, then look around

   pub · 60–90 min · 6–8 min to next

   5A Formosa Street, London W9 1EE

   From the previous stop Follow Warrington Crescent south and turn for Formosa Street. If dinner timing matters, arrive for the table you booked rather than trying to recover the schedule later.

   If you want dinner on this route, this is the place to stop. Do not find a table immediately: first notice the separate drinking compartments, curved partitions, etched glass, woodwork and layered collection of pictures. It feels old because it is, not because somebody ordered a Victorian theme.

   Walk from the previous stop to Prince Alfred – dinner, then look around (opens in a new tab)Official information for Prince Alfred – dinner, then look around (opens in a new tab)

5. The Warwick Castle – the room on the left

   pub · 30–45 min · 5 min to next

   6 Warwick Place, London W9 2PX

   From the previous stop Walk south-east through the residential streets to Warwick Place. This is one atmospheric pause after dinner, not a second meal or a compulsory round.

   Wood panelling, stained glass and the warm counterpoint to the darker streets outside. If the fire is on, try the room on the far left. Come for the room rather than the drinking; tea, a soft drink or simply keeping the stop short preserves the route’s shape.

   Walk from the previous stop to The Warwick Castle – the room on the left (opens in a new tab)Official information for The Warwick Castle – the room on the left (opens in a new tab)

6. Warwick Avenue – one song and a green shelter

   view · 10–15 min · 5–10 min to next

   Warwick Avenue and Clifton Gardens, London W9

   From the previous stop Continue to Warwick Avenue, passing the station area and aiming for the small green shelter near Clifton Gardens before turning towards the canal.

   Duffy’s ‘Warwick Avenue’ is the obvious soundtrack here. Nearby St Saviour’s appears in The Human League’s ‘Love Action’ video; keep that as an Easter egg rather than a detour. The green hut is not a garden shed but an 1888 cabmen’s shelter, built so drivers could eat, rest and warm up without leaving their cabs far behind.

   Walk from the previous stop to Warwick Avenue – one song and a green shelter (opens in a new tab)Official information for Warwick Avenue – one song and a green shelter (opens in a new tab)

7. Little Venice – ten minutes of open water

   walk · 15–25 min · 5–10 min to next

   The canal basin around Browning’s Pool, London W2

   From the previous stop Walk south to the canal basin and take a short waterside loop rather than trying to cover every towpath. Keep the theatre time in hand.

   Narrowboats, bridges and reflections briefly open the route after its enclosed pub rooms. The name is often associated with Robert Browning, who lived nearby, although the exact origin is disputed. The Paddington connection starts early too: Michael Bond lived by the canal here, and Little Venice later appeared in Paddington 2.

   Walk from the previous stop to Little Venice – ten minutes of open water (opens in a new tab)Official information for Little Venice – ten minutes of open water (opens in a new tab)

8. Canal Cafe Theatre – NewsRevue

   finish · Allow for the booked performance · 10–15 min to Paddington after the show to next

   Bridge House, Delamere Terrace, London W2 6ND

   From the previous stop Leave the basin for Delamere Terrace and arrive with time to find the upstairs theatre. After the performance, use the separate Paddington finish directions rather than adding another stop.

   NewsRevue has been satirising the week’s news since 1979. Its cast changes regularly and the topical material changes weekly, so this ending can be different even when the walk is repeated. Book the current performance through the theatre rather than planning around a copied show time.

   Walk from the previous stop to Canal Cafe Theatre – NewsRevue (opens in a new tab)Official information for Canal Cafe Theatre – NewsRevue (opens in a new tab)

Finish and easy exit.

After the show, walk straight to Paddington. The sudden change from a tiny upstairs theatre to a major London station is the ending; it does not need another stop attached to it.

Open Paddington Station (opens in a new tab)Check the current service (opens in a new tab)