Chelsea is a special and an elegant village. Its name conjures up images of Sloane Rangers and the King’s Road, where dedicated followers of fashion strut their stuff. But to delve into its backstreets is to enter a magical and enchanting world where tucked away squares nestle cheek by jowl alongside some of London’s most exquisite and colourful buildings.

There is the elegant splendour of Wren’s Royal Hospital - home to the celebrated Chelsea Pensioners, resplendent in their bright Scarlet Tunics. There is the red brick elegance of Oscar Wilde’s “Tower of Ivory,” where he confronted his demons…and lost. There is the house on the leafy square to which Mark Twain fled and came to terms with a very personal tragedy. There is the chic square where A. A. Milne once lived, and on which James Bond’s bachelor pad was situated.

There is the silver thread of the Thames, best seen when the afternoon sun dances across its surface and reflects bygone ages of glory, grandeur and mystery. And oh what memories that river is privy to! Memories of Henry V111’s Palace and Thomas More’s Stately home. Of Dante Gabrielle Rossetti’s eccentricities, George Elliot’s scandalous lifestyle, Thomas Carlyle’s seclusion, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh’s stormy relationship, and Mick Jagger’s rock star excesses. Memories of the 16th century apothecaries garden that helped change the course of American history. Of the medieval Crosby Hall - the place where Richard 111, reputedly, heard the news that the Prince’s in the Tower had been done to death.

All these memories, when mixed together with the artists studios, poets pubs, impecunious writers garrets, rock star hangouts and royal refuges -absolutely guarantee you an eye opening tour through a neighbourhood that will cast a spell so potent that you will find yourself drawn back to its secret streets and hidden squares over and over again.