• This route, which can be enjoyed on foot, is one I often take. It begins quietly, in Mount St Gardens. Sheltered by Mayfair’s iconic red brick mansions, the garden’s microclimate hosts unique flora and fauna, including an Australian Mimosa and a Canary Date Palm. Sitting there with a coffee from Farm Shop (on South Audley St—an unfussy oasis of modern British rurality) offers the ideal point of visual departure for a day of viewing art.
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    This route, which can be enjoyed on foot, is one I often take. It begins quietly, in Mount St Gardens. Sheltered by Mayfair’s iconic red brick mansions, the garden’s microclimate hosts unique flora and fauna, including an Australian Mimosa and a Canary Date Palm. Sitting there with a coffee from Farm Shop (on South Audley St—an unfussy oasis of modern British rurality) offers the ideal point of visual departure for a day of viewing art.

     

    The first part of my walk circles around Berkeley Square, heading westward to visit a cluster of favourite galleries—starting with David Zwirner and followed by Waddington Custot, Alison Jacques, Hauser and Wirth and General Assembly. All within a comfortable walking distance, their proximity to each other maintains the visual immersion. For the first time at the gallery, Alison Jacques are showing works by Eileen Agar; at Waddington Custot, a survey of work from Jean Dubuffet’s final decade will be on view—two luminaries of twentieth century art.  

     

    Along the way, I like to weave in a couple of personal favourites. A visit to James Purdey and Sons on South Audley St is always special, it’s a place where heritage and craft feel completely authentic—be sure to visit the iconic Long Room. Nearby, Anderson & Sheppard Haberdashery on Clifford St offers a different kind of delightful sartorial precision. 

     

    Lunch, or even just a pause, is best taken at The Connaught or Mount St. Restaurant. Both have that rare quality of being both elegant and entirely at ease, places that restore you without interrupting the flow of the day.

     

    Appetite sated, the afternoon takes my route to Savile Row for Sadie Coles HQ and Pilar Corrias. At the latter, Kat Lyons will present a new body of work which “examines the category of the “animal” and histories of nonhuman use for human advancement, from biomedical research to agricultural and technological interventions.” Ending the day, White Cube Mason's Yard is showing the first UK exhibition of work by Shao Fan, who similarly explores the interconnectedness of humanity and nature. 

     

    Overall, it’s a walk that balances intimacy and scale, heritage and contemporary practice—with just enough pause built in to let it all settle.

     

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