Walking with Linda: 4 or 8 mile, Shepherd's Bush to Charing Cross walk, Sikh Temple & Somalian Cultu

Join Linda on this 4 or 8 mile, Shepherd's Bush to Charing Cross walk, Sikh Temple & Somalian Culture Centre Visits.

Please meet in the booking hall of the Shepherd's Bush, Central Line tube station by 09:50 ready for a prompt 10:00 departure.   

We will walk to the Central Gurdwara (Khasla Jatha) oldest UK Sikh place of worship for a visit. It was founded in 1908 and has been on this site since 1969.

We will have a brief explanation of the basic Sikh beliefs and visit the shrine if you wish, before we have the option of partaking in the offering of a hot vegetarian meal for all visitors to the temple which is a key aspect of the Sikh religion. There are tables and chairs where you can enjoy your meal and talk with Sikhs who are visiting to eat and worship if you wish.

You will need to remove your shoes in the front lobby area and leave them on a shelf in the care of the Temple 'Welcomer'. You will also need to cover your head with a headscarf or piece of cloth if you want to being your own with you, or the Welcomer will lend you one (peak caps are not allowed).

We'll then walk to the Somalian Culture Centre to see typical and cultural everyday things that feature and support Somalian lives; things like gambars, traditional dress to wear at a Somali wedding, wooden prayer beads used to ask for forgiveness and food preparation items etc. There will be a Somalian on hand to answer any questions you may have.

Next is just over an hours walk to an ornate 19th Century pub for lunch. We will stop here for lunch at about 12:30 (at your own expense). Or, if you prefer, you can bring a picnic to have sitting in the nearby Kensington Gardens.

If a 4 mile walk, the morning cultural visits and a pub lunch are enough for you, you can go home from the nearby High Street, Kensington tube station.

Or, if you would like to join us at the pub for lunch and come on the 4 mile afternoon walk with us, you can; please message the walk leader, Linda if you choose this option so the group know you will not be at the walk start.

After lunch, we will walk via Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park, St James's Park and past numerous monuments to hero's of the second world war to Charing Cross.

You might like to join those of us who like to treat ourselves to a pot of tea and cake/ dessert in a café before we catch our trains home from Charing Cross railway station.

Please bring drinking water, money to buy lunch and any other drinks and snacks you may want. 

Please dress for the weather on the day (and bring a golfing umbrella if it is expected to rain!).

Please check your transport times, and for any engineering works, at least the day before the walk and allow some contingency time for delays.  

The walk needs to depart on time for the comfort and enjoyment of those who have arrived on time. Thank you.