Hello there, this is a message to the members of the Holland Park Tennis Club. I am a tennis player…read moreand I would love to have a chance to play on grass one day! Since I am not a member myself and I am only going to be in London for the next 5 weeks, I was wondering whether I could play with one among you and so fulfill this little dream of mine. Thanks for your kind attention, Nino

This place is so much more than a tennis club; it's my second home. Tennis clubs and I have known…read morea few can be elitist, cold places, full of cliques and rules. Take Hurlingham, where if you're not wearing 87% white, some haughty octogenarian will shuffle over and delight in ticking you off. And where despite the fact they boast dozens of often deserted, pristine courts, you can't book for more than an hour. And don't get me onto the 10-year waiting list. HPLTC is infinitely friendlier with far more sensible rules. What makes it special is the fact it's small enough to encourage a community feel, but not so small as to feel claustrophobic. The grounds are also wonderful. If you don't have any outdoor space at home as I don't you can while away summer days with a few sets on grass courts, before collapsing with a newspaper and Pimms in a deckchair on their generous lawn. The club, tucked away in Holland Park, has a unique atmosphere and is the type of place where you can turn up alone and find someone to chat to and probably play with. There's a club night on Wednesday with a dinner afterwards, a singles league, tournaments, barbecues in the summer and a dedicated core of regulars. Really, if you're tennis-mad, as I am, there's no better place to be on a sunny day...and no better tennis club in London.

I am a passionate tennis player and I found a place in London where you do not need to be member of…read morea tennis club. West way is on the Hammersmith line at Royal oak. I have been there in summer, as they also have 4 out door courts as well as 8 indoor courts. You will play on the clay court outdoors and on an acrylic court indoors. Playing tennis at this sports centre gave a proper city like feeling, as it is next to an autoroute bridge. The facilities are absolutely ok. You have to book in advanced, as they do get buys at peak times, but otherwise they have a free court on the day. West Way sports centre is a pay and play centre without members, we were charged a one-off registration fee of £3 for 1 hour. In summer it can get quite hot when the sun gets out. When walking to the courts there are football games taking place, everyone gets sportive active. If you want to have a more professional lesion there is also the possibility to book a coached session. This place is great value for money, which makes you go out there and play tennis!

Westway Sports Centre is a Mecca for football, tennis and something called Eton Fives…read more With six outdoor artificial football pitches, eight indoor tennis courts and four Eton Fives courts this centre is busy all week long. None of the courts are expensive to hire, but you should aim to book well in advance. Eton Fives is a game played by hitting a small ball with a glove hand within a three walled court. It requires devastatingly quick reflexes to master. Housing a pool, climbing wall and a whole host of sports, the Westway Centre is a popular sporting location.

Easily the largest park in the Shepherd's Bush/Hammersmith area. Very popular with families and dog…read morewalkers as you might expect. Despite being large it has quite a bit of character and is a much more pleasant walking route from the Ravenscourt Park station to my house than trotting up Conningham Road or whatever other awful roads. They're actually quite nice roads, the whole area is very agreeable and the park is a big contributer to that nice feeling. Good for frisbee.

This is an incredible park…read more Friends and family who visit from outside London are amazed by it. It's like one of those parks you see in old children's picture books. Not just a big expanse of green - though it has that, too - there are lots of winding pathways and a small lake with an island, ducks, swans and geese ...and three separate kids play areas, all with different activities including a zip wire, tyre swings and great climbing frames. There's a huge Paddling Pool and a sandpit. There are dog-free, dog-specific and general areas. Basketball court, football pitch, tennis courts, even a beautifully kept bowling green. And - my favourite - a walled scented garden with shaded benches. This park has everything. Not forgetting the great café, recently taken over by Fait Maison, which does drinks and food, with lots of outdoor and indoor seating and yet another play area. And if the yummy mummyness of that cafe is too much for you, the Ginko garden centre at the south end of the park (yes, it has a garden centre, too) also has a great cafe. And it's right next to Ravenscourt Park tube.

Apparently, this park is sited on the remains of an original Japanese garden designed for the 1910…read moreExhibition. As the garden was carved up for residential estates and then BBC Television Centre, the remaining area was landscaped and opened as Hammersmith Park. Ta-dah! The place is really lovely and has a gated children's play area (big, lots of space to run around, lots of climbing frames etc), a pond, statues, bowling green - your classic London park. It's easy to get to (White City & Wood Lane Underground Station ~ 0.3 km away) and situated at the end of a residential street, it's chilled out.

This is a lovely park, with a host of facilities including a gated children's play area, bowling…read moregreen, playing courts and a small landscaped garden with statues and a bubbling spring. This park appears well kept and based at the end of a residential road, this is a quiet retreat from the shopping bustle of Shepherds Bush.

Woah! This park has it all! Also known as St Mark's Park…read more(after the street on which is located) Kensington memorial is brilliant and the perfect place for kids and adult to go crazy. This park has been recently refurbished and I am very happy because its like 10 mins away from mine. It is wheelchair accessible, has a adventure playground with colourful apparatus+ sand box, a larger play area for older children with space rockets climbing frames etc and a large water park that is an absolute blessing on these hot, hot day! And the best part?! It is all free!! There is also a small shop(open during the summer months) that sells hot/cold snacks and chairs and tables you can eat at. Lots of toilets, grass, shade etc. It also includes tennis courts, football, junior cricket classes and One O'clock club which is managed by Family and Children's Services. The park was opened in 1926 in memoriam to those who fell in the Great War.

From where we stayed in Notting Hill, we were a very short walk to Holland Park…read more We entered through Holland Walk and headed to the Dutch Garden first, where thousands of tulips were starting to bloom. It was a bit early in the season so the garden was not nearly as beautiful as it might have been just a week later. This year, the color theme was primarily purple and yellow and those were the tulips not fully bloomed. A garden plot with vibrant red tulips that were in full bloom was very pretty! After, we walked onto the Kyoto Garden, which was much more congested because it is a picturesque spot. There is a walking path around a pond with a key photo spot being the waterfall. The tourists queue up in one line clockwise to take photos at the waterfall. Oddly, there are some walkers that are clearly frustrated by the presence of visitors and insist on walking counter-clockwise through the visitors. We exited on Abbotsbury Road, on the opposite side of the park. It was a nice 1-2 hour excursion, a nice walk and recommend it!

Gayle and I took a long walk from our Hilton Paddington Hotel to Holland Park, specifically to see…read moreand enjoy their Japanese (Kyoto) Garden. We were not disappointed. It's a sizable park and feels more like being in a jungle vs. the more manicured London green spaces like Kensington Gardens or Hyde Park. So after our visit to the Japanese Garden, we enjoyed just wandering around and kind of getting lost. We also appreciated the peace and quiet that comes with the relative lack of crowds.

I highly recommend West 12, he helped my back out so much, and was just overall a good guy…read more Excellent care!!

I damaged my ankle from boxing and put up with it for a long time until I went to the west 12…read morehealth centre, where they provided me with a diagnosis and clear rehabilitation in the gym there. The team were diligent and thorough and I have left back to Italy with a clear idea of what I have to keep on doing. The ankle feels better already. Thanks to the team at West 12, I'll be back soon!