The W1K line: Hyde Park escorts for a walk from the Park Lane gates, then the evening

Three walks from the Mayfair gates

The short one, about twenty minutes: in at Grosvenor Gate, opposite the end of Upper Grosvenor Street, down through the Dell with its little waterfall, and out again at Hyde Park Corner, where the arch and the traffic reappear together. It suits a one hour booking that wants some air before a drink.

The Serpentine, about forty minutes: in at Apsley Gate beside Apsley House, west past the Rose Garden to the eastern tip of the lake, then back along the northern shore towards Stanhope Gate. At an easy pace it fills the opening of a three hour evening without anyone glancing at a watch.

The long one, close to an hour: west along Rotten Row, the old sand ride under the plane trees, as far as the Serpentine Bridge, then home along the southern edge of the water past the Lido. This is the route for a dinner date at £900, with the table held for half past eight on the Mayfair side.

The park, season by season

Spring brings daffodils on the slopes around the Dell and the Rose Garden coming into leaf, and by late April the light holds past eight, which makes the Serpentine loop an easy start to any booking. In summer the pavilion goes up beside the gallery in Kensington Gardens, the Lido fills in the afternoons, and the big July concerts take over the lawns at the Hyde Park Corner end, which is then best left alone after five.

Autumn is the quietest season and, for many guests, the best one: dry paths, an early dusk and the plane trees along Park Lane turning gold. From late November until early January, Winter Wonderland occupies the south eastern corner with lights and queues; on those evenings the house suggests meeting further north, at Grosvenor Gate or Cumberland Gate, well away from the crowds.

Shoes, coats and the gravel

Mention the walk when you write. She will wear something that copes with grass and gravel for half an hour and still belongs at a Mayfair table afterwards, or carry a pair of flats and change at the hotel. From October a proper coat belongs in the plan from the start, and there is always an umbrella in her bag.

When the gates close

The park opens at five in the morning and closes at midnight, so the walk belongs to the early part of any booking. After it, the evening moves indoors and stays within a few minutes of the eastern edge: the Library Bar in the corner house across Hyde Park Corner, the bar of the hotel on Hamilton Place, or a table on Park Lane itself. From any of them the room is a short walk or a two minute taxi away.

If it rains, the plan simply begins at its second step. Nobody is expected to lead a companion round the Serpentine in a downpour, and the booked hours start whenever and wherever you meet.

Meeting at a gate, practically

Name the gate and the time in your message, together with the hotel you are staying at. Grosvenor Gate, Stanhope Gate and Apsley Gate are the easy ones to find from Park Lane; Cumberland Gate works if you are nearer the arch. She reaches the gate in the usual hour or so after the reply, longer if Park Lane is crawling, the clock starts when you meet, and your full name and room number reach the house on WhatsApp before she leaves home, just as they would for a lobby.

The figure is the ordinary one for the length booked, from £250 for an hour to £900 for a dinner date. The walk costs nothing extra and never appears as a separate line.

Who walks first

Guests who have spent the day in meeting rooms and want twenty minutes of open sky before any conversation. Visitors on a first stay on Park Lane who can see the park from the window and have not yet crossed the road. Regulars who book the same companion each visit and have made the Serpentine loop a habit. And anyone who finds a first meeting easier side by side, walking, than face to face across a table.

Companions for a park evening

The three companions based in Mayfair live closest to the eastern gates. Angelika, athletic and 172 cm tall, enjoys the longer walk; Samanta, slim with long dark brown hair, is a natural for the Serpentine loop before dinner; Luna, dark auburn and curvy, prefers the short route with a warm bar at the end of it. From Paddington, on the northern side of the park, Laura rides for pleasure and knows Rotten Row better than most, and from Knightsbridge Sonya is at her best on an early start.

Around the eastern edge

Park Lane is the hotel row facing these gates. Green Park carries the green on across Hyde Park Corner towards Piccadilly. Marble Arch holds the north eastern corner, and Mayfair itself begins one street behind Park Lane.