Local Amenities

Paddington is a lively place: find out more about the Wilson area

Paddington is a safe London area in the City of Westminster borough of London. The area is known for its diversity. As with all big cities, it is necessary to take reasonable precautions to protect yourself, stay safe, and not do anything silly.

Around Paddington there are numerous facilities that many students will enjoy.

Supermarkets

There are a wide variety of supermarkets (big and small), and corner stores within walking distance from the Hall.

  • Tesco Express (Praed Street: 5 mins)
  • Waitrose (Edgware Road: 5mins)
  • Marks and Spencers (Edgware Road: 5mins)
  • Tesco Metro (Edgware Road: 7mins)
  • Sainsbury’s Local (Eastbourne Terrace/Praed Street: 9mins)
  • Sainsbury’s (Bishop’s Bridge Road: 15mins)

There’s also Church Street Market nearby! 🙂

Restaurants

London is alive with restaurants, and you will be spoiled for choice – whatever you fancy. If you go out often, you may benefit from a Tastecard, but more than likely you will also be always able to find a good offer on websites such as BookATable or OpenTable.

There are many restaurants on Edgware Road, around Paddington Station, around Padington Basin (the canal) and towards Central London. In Central London itself, popular streets include Wardour street and the Leicster Square/Covent Garden area.

Bars

There are quite a few pubs in the area hidden in the backstreets, and there are a few bars around Paddington Basin (The Grand Union, The Union [not to be confused with the actual Imperial College Union], and more).

Beware that drinks can be quite pricey; heading to the actual Union may be more appealing for your debit card…

Travel

Paddington is connected. Buses to Central London (South Kensington/Victoria area from one stop, and Oxford Street/Piccadilly from another) are frequent on Edgware Road. Edgware Road tube, Marble Arch, Paddington and Lancaster Gate tubes are all very close to Wilson.

Remember to register your Oyster card online in case you need to cancel it (if lost) and transfer the credit. You can also manage auto-top ups online to stop having to go to the machines all the time..

You can also use the Santander cycles for just £2!

Hyde Park

Hyde Park is one of London’s largest parks, and is arguably its nicest. We have the Italian Gardens upon entering the park from Sussex Gardens, the Serpentine, Albert Memorial, Physical Energy (the horse statue you will see every day walking to uni…). Don’t worry: although the UK has a horrific reputation for bad weather, London is normally actually not bad. It doesn’t rain that often and the walk through the park is very enjoyable.

Touristy Things

There’s a long list of things on and off the beaten-tourist path. We’ll try take you on some of them in Freshers’ Fortnight. Here’s just a few of the things we thought you could do…

  • London Eye
  • Tower of London
  • Climb the O2
  • See a West End Show
  • Go to Harry Potter World
  • See the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
  • SkyGarden
  • Portobello Road Market
  • One New Change roof bar
  • Climbing The Monument
  • Going inside the dome of St Pauls
  • River cruise to Greenwich to see the GMT line
  • And more…

Also, check out the TimeOut website!