Maida Vale, London, England

Maida Vale website includes the following description 'Located in West London, Maida Vale is primarily a residential district. A part of the City of Westminster, this district of Maida Vale acquired its name from the Hero of Maida. This again is the name of a public house that opened on the Edgware road following the Battle of Maida in 1806. This area is rather affluent with several huge Edwardian mansion houses. One of the largest and most famous mansions in the district is Ashworth Mansions. This predominantly residential district encompasses the Paddington Basin. This place is the confluence of three canals, with several houseboats. Quite justifiably this place is also known as the ‘Little Venice’.
Starting from Kilburn off the Edgware Road, near Kilburn High Road Station the district runs in a south-east direction past the Maida Vale Tube Station. To the east of Maida Vale lie St John’s Wood and Lord’s Cricket Ground. Maida Vale takes the name of Edgware Road at the point where it meets St John’s Wood Road.
Maida Vale used to be a district with a predominantly Jewish population during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This is the place where one would find the 1896 Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue which is a grade II listed building. Also found here are the head quarters of the British Sephardi Community. It may be mentioned in this connection that David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, lived close to this Synagogue, on the Warrington Crescent. A few hundred yards further down the same road resided Alan Turing, the pioneer of modern computing.
The Maida Vale district also boasts of some Recording and Broadcast Studios of the BBC National Radio. The ones here usually specialize in music and drama. BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, and BBC Radio 3 are the stations that primarily use them. These studios were also home to the famous Peel Sessions, the BBC Radio 1 programme by John Peel. The BBC Radiophonic Workshop also operated from here from 1958 until the time when the BBC management decided to close it down in the year 1998. Their pioneering Delaware synthesizer was named after the Delaware Road, where the studio was located.
The exquisite properties and peacefully paced life have turned Maida Vale into a popular inner-city escape for Londoners. One can experience the vibe of a village life from the cafes, restaurants, and independent delis in the district. Unlike Islington or Belsize Park as both of these areas are congested with traffic, the Maida Vale district boasts of free open spaces, despite being in close proximity to the town. The great transportation links provide you with everything that’s best of an urban life minus the urban stresses.
The little Venice area is popular for the white stucco facades. The maisonettes at garden squares like the Clifton gardens and Bristol Gardens are an owner’s envy. Even going for one of those one room flats too would not be a bad proposition. They came at really affordable prices. If you are looking for something far cheaper, going for one of those picturesque houseboats on the Regent’s Canal would then be a better option. Another low budget destination these days is to the further west in the Maida Hill region. The small Victorian houses there have been converted into nicely planned flats. These flats certainly lack the grandeur factor. But other facilities, like the postcode, proximity to Notting Hill and, most of all, affordable range well compensates for that. As an owner of a real property in the Maida Hill district you can feel proud of its highly developed educational system and steeply declining rate of crime.'