Kensington is my home, and so it is surprising I have not done a Kensington walk before now.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea stretches from the River Thames in the South to Notting Hill and North Kensington in the North. It is a large area.

The part we are walking through is the wealthiest. Even the smallest houses, of which there are very few, now cost in excess of £1million (currently US $1.93 million).

The walk starts at High Street Kensington Underground station, which is on the Circle and District lines (zone 1). There are also many buses which serve this premier shopping area.

We start by walking east, and turning down Derry Street, named after one of the partners in the Derry & Toms department store that once occupied the site. Its successor Barkers of Kensington has just closed down. The building is partly occupied by one of London's evening newspapers, and the store will become an organic food shop. There is a wonderful roof garden which you can visit. It belongs to Sir Richard Branson's Virgin. For opening hours and contact details, visit the Roof Gardens web site. There are three themed gardens covering 1.5 acres 100 ft above street level.

During the walk we wander through two of Kensington's oldest squares dating from the mid 17th century and beyond.

There is a wealth of interest in this walk, which takes less than an hour. At the end, you have the option of shopping in High Street Kensington, visiting Holland Park, or eating at one of Kensington's restaurants or cafes.

A short walk of less than 50 minutes from Big Ben through St James's to Buckingham Palace.

Start at Westminster Underground (Circle, District and Jubilee Lines Zone 1). From Parliament Square, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey we walk up Whitehall past the Cenotaph, Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence. The route then crosses Horse Guards Parade to The Mall with views either side towards Admiralty Arch and Trafalgar Square in one direction and Buckingham Palace in the other.

After walking up Duke of York steps we enter the fascinating area of St James's. Jermyn Street with its hand made shoes, bespoke tailoring, and other delightful shops is a street in which you are bound to linger. If you have not visited the church of St James Piccadilly on another of my walks, you can do so here.

We then walk down St James's Street to St James's Palace where we hear a guardsman pacing up and down, standing to attention, presenting arms and standing easy. Finally we pass Stable Yard and enter Green Park beside the quaintly named Milkmaid's Passage. Buckingham Palace then comes into view.

The walks ends at this point, but there are instructions to reach either Hyde Park Corner or Victoria Underground stations, both convenient points to catch the Tube.

This walk is a little gem. There is so much to see and do in such a short space of time. There are no points in the sound file where I pause the recording, so the actual length on your iPod is all the time you will need to complete the walk.

Welcome to all the new listeners who have joined us during the past month, when the podcast has been promoted on the Podcast home page of iTunes. I would especially like to welcome undergraduate and in-service teachers in Hangzhou China who are listening to these walks as a way of getting to know London, its sights and sounds, and the spoken language.

Help me celebrate 100,000 downloads which we passed this month!