Events by this organizer

The hidden Caribbean history behind Notting Hill’s pastel houses. Shebeens, resistance and the Mangrove Nine. A walking tour like no other.

Behind the pastel houses and the Hugh Grant film, there is a Notting Hill that most people never hear about.

This walk takes you through the streets where Caribbean families built an entire community from scratch – because nobody else would let them in. We visit the sites of clubs, cafés, pubs, restaurants and shebeens that no longer exist, but whose stories shaped this neighbourhood.

You will hear about illegal gambling dens in basement rooms, the only pub in the neighbourhood that would serve a Black customer, a restaurant whose story changed British civil rights history, a James Bond actor with a secret second life, and a political scandal that connected these streets to the fall of a government.

We start outside Notting Hill Community Church, Kensington Park Road, and end at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. 75 minutes. The Notting Hill they do not tell you about.

Join us for an in-depth 90-minute journey through Notting Hill’s Caribbean history.

90-Minute Guided Walk Through the Historic Heart of Caribbean London

Experience the incredible true stories that created Europe’s biggest street festival! This comprehensive walking tour visits all the essential sites where Caribbean history was made in Notting Hill, including the powerful story of Kelso Cochrane.

You’ll Learn About:

The Windrush generation’s arrival and early struggles
How violent racism was met with community organising
Kelso Cochrane’s tragic murder
The Mangrove Nine: Britain’s landmark civil rights case
How tragedy became triumph through music, culture and celebration

Perfect For:

Those wanting the complete Caribbean Notting Hill story
Anyone curious about the deeper history behind Carnival
People who want to understand how struggle, loss and resistance shaped a community
Visitors who want more time to absorb the history at each location

Help set up UK Black History Month and spent decades fighting for Caribbean culture in Britain. Hear his story firsthand.

Ansel Wong has spent decades at the centre of Caribbean cultural life in Britain. He co-founded UK Black History Month and has worked tirelessly as an educator, activist and community organiser.

This is an intimate In Conversation evening in the Listening Lounge – a small space for no more than 20 people. Ansel shares his story, his memories and his reflections on what Caribbean heritage means in Britain today.

Part of Carnival 60, a six-month heritage programme marking the 60th anniversary of Notting Hill Carnival. Produced by More Curricular CIC & Notting Hill Walks.

All attendees including children require a ticket. Tickets are non-refundable. If you are unable to attend, you are welcome to pass your ticket to someone else.

Join us for an in-depth 90-minute journey through Notting Hill’s Caribbean history.

90-Minute Guided Walk Through the Historic Heart of Caribbean London

Experience the incredible true stories that created Europe’s biggest street festival! This comprehensive walking tour visits all the essential sites where Caribbean history was made in Notting Hill, including the powerful story of Kelso Cochrane.

You’ll Learn About:

The Windrush generation’s arrival and early struggles
How violent racism was met with community organising
Kelso Cochrane’s tragic murder
The Mangrove Nine: Britain’s landmark civil rights case
How tragedy became triumph through music, culture and celebration

Perfect For:

Those wanting the complete Caribbean Notting Hill story
Anyone curious about the deeper history behind Carnival
People who want to understand how struggle, loss and resistance shaped a community
Visitors who want more time to absorb the history at each location

The hidden Caribbean history behind Notting Hill’s pastel houses. Shebeens, resistance and the Mangrove Nine. A walking tour like no other.

Behind the pastel houses and the Hugh Grant film, there is a Notting Hill that most people never hear about.

This walk takes you through the streets where Caribbean families built an entire community from scratch – because nobody else would let them in. We visit the sites of clubs, cafés, pubs, restaurants and shebeens that no longer exist, but whose stories shaped this neighbourhood.

You will hear about illegal gambling dens in basement rooms, the only pub in the neighbourhood that would serve a Black customer, a restaurant whose story changed British civil rights history, a James Bond actor with a secret second life, and a political scandal that connected these streets to the fall of a government.

We start outside Notting Hill Community Church, Kensington Park Road, and end at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. 75 minutes. The Notting Hill they do not tell you about.

A one-hour walk from Notting Hill Gate to the summit of the actual hill. A thousand years of history beneath your feet.

This neighbourhood has been fought over, built up, torn down and reinvented for a thousand years. Join Notting Hill Walks for a one-hour walk from Notting Hill Gate to the summit of the actual hill, uncovering the layers beneath the surface – the artists’ colony, the working families, the Victorian dreamers, the writers and the communities who shaped this place long before the film crew arrived.

WHAT YOU’LL DISCOVER

The old hamlet where J.M.W. Turner painted and a Russian Tsar came shopping
A blue plaque for a composer who shaped the sound of the piano
A street that went from slum to pastel paradise in a single lifetime
A Victorian theatre where kings, actors and film stars all took their seats
The site of the old toll gate that gave Notting Hill Gate its name
The freezing attic where a young writer prepared himself to walk out among tramps
The summit of Notting Hill itself – and the forgotten Victorian scheme that shaped every street around it

WHO IT’S FOR

Anyone curious about the real history under the postcards. Perfect for locals who want to know their own streets, visitors who want more than the film tour, and anyone studying London’s Victorian history, literary heritage or urban change.

Duration: 60 minutes
Distance: around 1.5 km, mostly flat with a gentle rise to the summit
Start: The Old Swan, 206 Kensington Church Street, W8 7LX (opposite Notting Hill Gate station)
Finish: Kensington Park Gardens, W11 (close to Ladbroke Grove station)
Accessibility: step-free route throughout, pavements in good condition
Weather: walk runs in all conditions except extreme weather – please dress for the day

This walk is part of Carnival 60 – the six-month heritage programme marking 60 years of Notting Hill Carnival, running May to October 2026. Walks, talks, workshops and exhibitions exploring the Caribbean heritage of Notting Hill and the wider neighbourhood. 

The hidden Caribbean history behind Notting Hill’s pastel houses. Shebeens, resistance and the Mangrove Nine. A walking tour like no other.

Behind the pastel houses and the Hugh Grant film, there is a Notting Hill that most people never hear about.

This walk takes you through the streets where Caribbean families built an entire community from scratch – because nobody else would let them in. We visit the sites of clubs, cafés, pubs, restaurants and shebeens that no longer exist, but whose stories shaped this neighbourhood.

You will hear about illegal gambling dens in basement rooms, the only pub in the neighbourhood that would serve a Black customer, a restaurant whose story changed British civil rights history, a James Bond actor with a secret second life, and a political scandal that connected these streets to the fall of a government.

We start outside Notting Hill Community Church, Kensington Park Road, and end at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. 75 minutes. The Notting Hill they do not tell you about.

Join us for an in-depth 90-minute journey through Notting Hill’s Caribbean history.

90-Minute Guided Walk Through the Historic Heart of Caribbean London

Experience the incredible true stories that created Europe’s biggest street festival! This comprehensive walking tour visits all the essential sites where Caribbean history was made in Notting Hill, including the powerful story of Kelso Cochrane.

You’ll Learn About:

The Windrush generation’s arrival and early struggles
How violent racism was met with community organising
Kelso Cochrane’s tragic murder
The Mangrove Nine: Britain’s landmark civil rights case
How tragedy became triumph through music, culture and celebration

Perfect For:

Those wanting the complete Caribbean Notting Hill story
Anyone curious about the deeper history behind Carnival
People who want to understand how struggle, loss and resistance shaped a community
Visitors who want more time to absorb the history at each location

The hidden Caribbean history behind Notting Hill’s pastel houses. Shebeens, resistance and the Mangrove Nine. A walking tour like no other.

Behind the pastel houses and the Hugh Grant film, there is a Notting Hill that most people never hear about.

This walk takes you through the streets where Caribbean families built an entire community from scratch – because nobody else would let them in. We visit the sites of clubs, cafés, pubs, restaurants and shebeens that no longer exist, but whose stories shaped this neighbourhood.

You will hear about illegal gambling dens in basement rooms, the only pub in the neighbourhood that would serve a Black customer, a restaurant whose story changed British civil rights history, a James Bond actor with a secret second life, and a political scandal that connected these streets to the fall of a government.

We start outside Notting Hill Community Church, Kensington Park Road, and end at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. 75 minutes. The Notting Hill they do not tell you about.

Join us for an in-depth 90-minute journey through Notting Hill’s Caribbean history.

90-Minute Guided Walk Through the Historic Heart of Caribbean London

Experience the incredible true stories that created Europe’s biggest street festival! This comprehensive walking tour visits all the essential sites where Caribbean history was made in Notting Hill, including the powerful story of Kelso Cochrane.

You’ll Learn About:

The Windrush generation’s arrival and early struggles
How violent racism was met with community organising
Kelso Cochrane’s tragic murder
The Mangrove Nine: Britain’s landmark civil rights case
How tragedy became triumph through music, culture and celebration

Perfect For:

Those wanting the complete Caribbean Notting Hill story
Anyone curious about the deeper history behind Carnival
People who want to understand how struggle, loss and resistance shaped a community
Visitors who want more time to absorb the history at each location

The hidden Caribbean history behind Notting Hill’s pastel houses. Shebeens, resistance and the Mangrove Nine. A walking tour like no other.

Behind the pastel houses and the Hugh Grant film, there is a Notting Hill that most people never hear about.

This walk takes you through the streets where Caribbean families built an entire community from scratch – because nobody else would let them in. We visit the sites of clubs, cafés, pubs, restaurants and shebeens that no longer exist, but whose stories shaped this neighbourhood.

You will hear about illegal gambling dens in basement rooms, the only pub in the neighbourhood that would serve a Black customer, a restaurant whose story changed British civil rights history, a James Bond actor with a secret second life, and a political scandal that connected these streets to the fall of a government.

We start outside Notting Hill Community Church, Kensington Park Road, and end at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. 75 minutes. The Notting Hill they do not tell you about.

Join us for an in-depth 90-minute journey through Notting Hill’s Caribbean history.

90-Minute Guided Walk Through the Historic Heart of Caribbean London

Experience the incredible true stories that created Europe’s biggest street festival! This comprehensive walking tour visits all the essential sites where Caribbean history was made in Notting Hill, including the powerful story of Kelso Cochrane.

You’ll Learn About:

The Windrush generation’s arrival and early struggles
How violent racism was met with community organising
Kelso Cochrane’s tragic murder
The Mangrove Nine: Britain’s landmark civil rights case
How tragedy became triumph through music, culture and celebration

Perfect For:

Those wanting the complete Caribbean Notting Hill story
Anyone curious about the deeper history behind Carnival
People who want to understand how struggle, loss and resistance shaped a community
Visitors who want more time to absorb the history at each location

The hidden Caribbean history behind Notting Hill’s pastel houses. Shebeens, resistance and the Mangrove Nine. A walking tour like no other.

Behind the pastel houses and the Hugh Grant film, there is a Notting Hill that most people never hear about.

This walk takes you through the streets where Caribbean families built an entire community from scratch – because nobody else would let them in. We visit the sites of clubs, cafés, pubs, restaurants and shebeens that no longer exist, but whose stories shaped this neighbourhood.

You will hear about illegal gambling dens in basement rooms, the only pub in the neighbourhood that would serve a Black customer, a restaurant whose story changed British civil rights history, a James Bond actor with a secret second life, and a political scandal that connected these streets to the fall of a government.

We start outside Notting Hill Community Church, Kensington Park Road, and end at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. 75 minutes. The Notting Hill they do not tell you about.

Join us for an in-depth 90-minute journey through Notting Hill’s Caribbean history.

90-Minute Guided Walk Through the Historic Heart of Caribbean London

Experience the incredible true stories that created Europe’s biggest street festival! This comprehensive walking tour visits all the essential sites where Caribbean history was made in Notting Hill, including the powerful story of Kelso Cochrane.

You’ll Learn About:

The Windrush generation’s arrival and early struggles
How violent racism was met with community organising
Kelso Cochrane’s tragic murder
The Mangrove Nine: Britain’s landmark civil rights case
How tragedy became triumph through music, culture and celebration

Perfect For:

Those wanting the complete Caribbean Notting Hill story
Anyone curious about the deeper history behind Carnival
People who want to understand how struggle, loss and resistance shaped a community
Visitors who want more time to absorb the history at each location

The hidden Caribbean history behind Notting Hill’s pastel houses. Shebeens, resistance and the Mangrove Nine. A walking tour like no other.

Behind the pastel houses and the Hugh Grant film, there is a Notting Hill that most people never hear about.

This walk takes you through the streets where Caribbean families built an entire community from scratch – because nobody else would let them in. We visit the sites of clubs, cafés, pubs, restaurants and shebeens that no longer exist, but whose stories shaped this neighbourhood.

You will hear about illegal gambling dens in basement rooms, the only pub in the neighbourhood that would serve a Black customer, a restaurant whose story changed British civil rights history, a James Bond actor with a secret second life, and a political scandal that connected these streets to the fall of a government.

We start outside Notting Hill Community Church, Kensington Park Road, and end at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. 75 minutes. The Notting Hill they do not tell you about.

Join us for an in-depth 90-minute journey through Notting Hill’s Caribbean history.

90-Minute Guided Walk Through the Historic Heart of Caribbean London

Experience the incredible true stories that created Europe’s biggest street festival! This comprehensive walking tour visits all the essential sites where Caribbean history was made in Notting Hill, including the powerful story of Kelso Cochrane.

You’ll Learn About:

The Windrush generation’s arrival and early struggles
How violent racism was met with community organising
Kelso Cochrane’s tragic murder
The Mangrove Nine: Britain’s landmark civil rights case
How tragedy became triumph through music, culture and celebration

Perfect For:

Those wanting the complete Caribbean Notting Hill story
Anyone curious about the deeper history behind Carnival
People who want to understand how struggle, loss and resistance shaped a community
Visitors who want more time to absorb the history at each location

The hidden Caribbean history behind Notting Hill’s pastel houses. Shebeens, resistance and the Mangrove Nine. A walking tour like no other.

Behind the pastel houses and the Hugh Grant film, there is a Notting Hill that most people never hear about.

This walk takes you through the streets where Caribbean families built an entire community from scratch – because nobody else would let them in. We visit the sites of clubs, cafés, pubs, restaurants and shebeens that no longer exist, but whose stories shaped this neighbourhood.

You will hear about illegal gambling dens in basement rooms, the only pub in the neighbourhood that would serve a Black customer, a restaurant whose story changed British civil rights history, a James Bond actor with a secret second life, and a political scandal that connected these streets to the fall of a government.

We start outside Notting Hill Community Church, Kensington Park Road, and end at The Tabernacle on Powis Square. 75 minutes. The Notting Hill they do not tell you about.