Hyde Park escorts for W2 and W1K, from the north side terraces to Park Lane

The northern edge runs from Marble Arch to Lancaster Gate beside the Bayswater Road, with terraces of flats and hotels facing the railings. Victoria Gate and Cumberland Gate lead in, and North Carriage Drive runs inside the park parallel to the road. Hyde Park itself stays open from 5am until midnight, far later than neighbouring Kensington Gardens, which closes at dusk.

Inside, the Serpentine cuts across from east to west. Rotten Row takes riders along the southern side in the morning, the Serpentine galleries show contemporary art on either side of the water, and in summer the Lido opens for swimmers. At Hyde Park Corner, Apsley House and Wellington Arch mark the south eastern tip, and beyond the Serpentine bridge the lawns carry on as Kensington Gardens.

On the north side, in W2, Royal Lancaster London stands at Lancaster Gate and Hilton London Hyde Park holds the corner of Queensway, both with rooms that face the trees. On the east side, in W1K, The Dorchester is the grand house of the Park Lane row. To the south, in Knightsbridge, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park backs directly onto the lawns. To the west, Royal Garden Hotel on Kensington High Street looks out over Kensington Gardens.

Five hotels on four sides, and the list could easily be three times longer. Each is named as somewhere a companion visits, never as a partner; none has an arrangement with us, and a visitor asking for a guest is part of every hotel's evening. Private flats along the Bayswater Road and on the streets behind Park Lane are treated the same way.

North edge: a 2 minute walk from Lancaster Gate, a Central line stop. North east corner: roughly 3 minutes from Marble Arch, also Central line. South east corner: the Piccadilly line at Hyde Park Corner, 3 minutes or so from the hotels at the foot of Park Lane. South side: Knightsbridge, one more Piccadilly line stop, about 5 minutes on foot.

From the Paddington forecourt, a hotel on the north side is about 4 minutes by taxi, and Park Lane or Knightsbridge 10 to 15, depending on the traffic at Marble Arch. Every address around the park is in Zone 1, so travel never appears on the bill.

Mention which side of the park you are on in your first message, together with the hotel, the start, the length and the companion, and the desk will suggest who is closest. Replies come within 10 to 15 minutes. After your full name and room number are checked, the booking stands. Arrival is normally inside the hour.

Two park facts shape the timing. Kensington Gardens locks at dusk, so a walk on the western side belongs early in the evening. And on summer concert nights, or while the winter fair is on, the roads around the park slow down; allow extra minutes or pick a slightly later start.

Guests who paid for the view and would rather not look at it alone. Travellers who chose the north side for its short hop to the airport trains. Visitors in London for a summer concert or a week of meetings on Park Lane. And residents of the mansion flats along the Bayswater Road, for whom the park is simply the front garden.

On a light summer evening: 19:00, a drink in the bar of your north side hotel. 19:30, into the park at Victoria Gate and down towards the Serpentine as the sun drops. 20:00, along the water to the bridge, then back up past the Italian Gardens before the gates of Kensington Gardens close. 20:45, dinner a few minutes from the park on the Bayswater side. 22:30, a nightcap at the hotel. 23:00, four hours end on the £900 dinner date.

Three sides of the park have companions living close by. North, in Paddington: Laura, Nora and Vanessa. East, in Mayfair: Angelika, Luna and Samanta. South, in Knightsbridge: Bianka, Margo and Sonya.

Thea, who lives in South Kensington, likes to open an evening with a bicycle ride beside the water, and Sonya's diary, which runs from 5pm to 10pm, suits a park walk while it is still light.

Lancaster Gate is the north side seen up close. Marble Arch holds the north east corner. Bayswater and Queensway sit behind the northern terraces, and the W2 half of the park appears with the rest of the postcode on W2.