Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL
When it emerged in the 1960s,
Notting Hill Carnival
was little more than a few church-hall
events and a carnival parade by Trinidadians. Today Carnival, held over the August Bank Holiday
weekend, still belongs to West Indians (from all parts of the city), but there are participants too
from London's Latin American and Asian communities, and Londoners of all descriptions turn
out to watch the bands and parades, drink Red Stripe, eat curry goat and generally hang out.
The main sights of Carnival are the
costume parades
, which take place on the Sunday (for
kids) and Monday (for adults) from around 9am until 7pm. The parade makes its way around a
three-mile route, and consists of big trucks which carry the soundsystems and
mas
(masquerade) bands, behind which the masqueraders dance in outrageous costumes. Most of
the
mas
bands play a variety of soca or calypso featuring steel bands - the “pans” of the
steel
bands
are one of the chief sounds of Carnival and have their own contest on the Saturday at
Horniman's Pleasance, off Kensal Road by the canal. As well as the parade, there are several
stages for live music and numerous soundsystems where you can catch reggae, ragga,
drum'n'bass, jungle, garage, house and much more.
Over the last decade or so, the Carnival has generally been fairly relaxed, considering the
huge numbers of people it attracts. However, this is not an event for you if you're at all
bothered by very loud music or crowds - around a million people attend the festival each year
and you can be wedged stationary during the parades. It's also worth taking more than usual
care with yourself and your belongings. The static soundsystems are switched off at 7pm each
day - if there's going to be any trouble it tends to come after that point or, if you feel at all
uneasy, head home early.
Getting to and from the Carnival
is quite an event in itself. Ladbroke Grove tube station
is closed for the duration, while other stations have restricted hours or are open only for
incoming visitors. The event's website
W
thenottinghillcarnival.com provides helpful advice
on how to plan your journey to and from the carnival.
19
trendy shops and white stuccoed mansions. Back in the 1950s, however, it was
described as “a massive slum, full of multi-occupied houses, crawling with rats and
rubbish”. Along with Brixton in south London, it was one of the main neighbourhoods
settled by Afro-Caribbean immigrants, invited over to work in the public services.
Tensions between the black families who'd moved into the area and the young white
working-class “Teddy Boys” were exploited by far-right groups. And for four days in
August 1958, Pembridge Road became the focal point of the UK's first
race riots
.
The following year, the
Notting Hill Carnival
(see above) was begun as a response to the
riots; in 1965 it took to the streets and has since grown into one of Europe's biggest
street festivals. In the 1970s and early 1980s, tensions between the black community
and the police came to a head at carnival time, but strenuous efforts on both sides have
meant that such conflict has generally been avoided in the last two decades.
Portobello Road
Portobello Road
is a meandering, beguiling street that starts just up Chepstow Road
from the tube and is famed for its market (see p.434), at its busiest on Saturdays. A
short distance up the road stands the
Electric
Cinema
(see p.421), London's oldest
movie house, which opened in 1910 on the corner of Blenheim Crescent. Portobello
Road is the chief location in the movie
Notting Hill
: Hugh Grant's travel bookshop is
at 142 Portobello Rd (now a shoe shop), though the real Travel Bookshop is actually
round the corner at 13-15 Blenheim Crescent, his house is nearby at 280 Westbourne
Park Rd and the private gardens he and Julia Roberts break into are on Rosmead Road.
Trellick Tower
Passing under the
Westway
flyover and east into Golborne Road, you come face-to-face
with the awesome
Trellick Tower
, a 31-floor high-rise block of flats designed by Ernö
Goldfinger in 1973. The separate service tower has arrow slits and an overhanging
