The best street party in town

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Sensory overload: The key to enjoying London's most exciting and highly charged event is to be as laid-back as possible

Beat this: the sights and sounds at the Carnival can be spectacular

Street scene: The parade features some wonderful costumes

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• How to get to the Notting Hill Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival 2008
24 - 25 August

Since you can hear Notting Hill Carnival's steel bands drumming from miles around, you may as well enjoy them full volume this bank holiday, along with all the colour, texture and energy of this spectacular event.

Europe's largest street party is expected to draw more than one-and-a-half million revellers over the two days.

The activity will be characterised by colourful floats, steel drums and buzzing sound systems chugging their way along the three-mile route normally trodden by latte ladies and their cashmered sprogs.

It is perhaps London's most exciting and highly charged event, with a sashaying, celebratory atmosphere that feels more Rio than west London. As a Notting Hill resident, come August bank holiday there is simply nowhere else to be.

However, it can be daunting. Sunday is Children's Day, claiming to be calmer and more family-focused, but the sheer wash of people can still make it quite intimidating for anyone under one metre tall.

Printing off a map from the website is essential to help you wend your way when the usual landmarks are cloaked in bodies, as is wearing proper shoes if you don't want your flip-flopped feet shredded by broken bottles.

But if you brace yourself for the sensory overload - from the smell of jerk chicken that always lingers for days after (to my dismay), to the constantly evolving sounds, calypso to dancehall to Masquerade band beat - it will repay your investment.

Of the static stages, Sancho Panzais key for some funky house, while Norman Jay should provide some more Good Times and Gaz's Rockin Blues on Talbot Road a welcome dose of classic ska, Southern R&B and a breather.

Otherwise you can just shimmy along and try to save some energy for the after-parties, or Monday, which gets a little more gritty.

There are already clusters of rasta banners streaming from building to building in expectation and band stages materialising from nowhere.

Even the sun is tipped to put in a guest appearance at the climax: I can't remember a Carnival when the sun wasn't shining Marley-style.

It's odd that with all the spring-like tension leading to the event that the secret to enjoying it is to be as laid-back as possible - it being crucial to be in no rush at all when it can take half an hour to move 50 metres.

Carnival Route (10am start)

THE BEST PLACES TO GET A PINT

To be honest, you'll struggle to get a seat in any of the pubs that line the main parade route.
So it's a much better idea to head off-piste slightly and seek out a "quieter" spot where you can draw breath at one of the following fine boozers.

The Westbourne
101 Westbourne Park Villas
This gastropub has a big outdoor space for alfresco drinking and it also boasts one of the most stylish crowds around.

Portobello Gold
95-97 Portobello Road
This Notting Hill favourite has a relaxed vibe and a cool little junglestyle conservatory restaurant out back if you want to eat.

Prince Albert
11 Pembridge Road
The only pub in Notting Hill to have been awarded the Cask Ale Marque, it's also a godsend for smokers thanks to its beer garden.

Grand Union
45 Woodfield Road
Cool canalside gastropub on the edge of the carnival nuttiness.

Sun In Splendor
7 Portobello Road
Cosy little pub with a cute beer garden and well-positioned for the slow march up to Notting Hill Gate at the end of the day.

SOUND SYSTEMS - THE BEST PLACES TO DANCE

Pineapple Tribe

Crew: T-Boy, Funkwit and more.
Location: Ledbury Road, opposite The Walmer Castle pub.
Music Policy: This free party collective are known for their love of all things breakbeat so expect fast-paced breaks and banging trance all day long.

Abashanti

Crew: Shanti-Ites.
Location: East Row, junction with Southern Row.
Music Policy: 100 per cent roots and culture, with speaker stacks 10 feet high and bassbins so powerful they could kill a goat at 50 paces.

Good Times

Crew: Norman Jay, Joey Jay, Rudy Ranks and guests (see normanjay.com for more info).
Location: corner of Southern Row and West Row.
Music Policy: If you're a clubber, going to Carnival and not seeing Norman is simply unthinkable. His Good Times bus attracts one of the friendliest crowds around for his mix of funky house, rare groove, reggae and club classics. When the sun is shining, the stage is set for what could be your perfect Carnival moment.

KCC & The Rockin Crew

Crew: KCC featuring Keith "KCC", Paul Emanuel, DJ Sound, plus special international guest DJs.
Location: Wornington Road (next to the basketball court).
Music Policy: A true gathering of the myriad club tribes converges at this spot every year to hear a bangon mix of funky house and club classics. Fantastic.

Gaz's Rockin' Blues, "The Lost World"

Crew: Gaz "Rocking' Blues" Mayall, Jason Mayall, Batty Bo, The Legendary Duke Vin, Jim Lad, Tommy Diamond, Count Cassavabu, Sir Bunny, The Ramjam, Brothers and Tommy Diamond.
Location: Talbot Road, in front of The Globe.
Music Policy: Superb ska and rocking reggae from the hosts of one of London's longest-running (and friendliest) clubs.

Rampage

Crew: Mike Anthony, Treble T, Dee, D'nyce and Legz.
Location: Colville Gardens, junction with Colville Terrace, outside number 1 Colville Square.
Music Policy: South Londoners Rampage host a show on BBC Radio 1xtra and have spent the summer hopping back and forth from gigs in Ayia Napa. Their carnival set of dark R&B, hip hop and bashment never fails to draw a big crowd.

Sancho Panza

Crew: Jimmy K Tel and Matt Brown.
Location: junction of Middle Row and Conlan Street.
Music Policy: Joining the dots between electro, tech, house and breaks, the Sancho Panza boys have one of the best locations and most up-for-it crowds at Carnival. Top DJs often turn up unbilled to play the last hour (including Bushwacka and Sashain in recent years), so it's worth making this your final destination.

THE BEST PARTIES

13 The Garden Party, The Mason's Arms
This unique Victorian venue will be a sell-out as its two rooms and outdoor terrace play host to Bushwacka, Dub Pistols and Justin Robertson.
Sunday and Monday, 8pm-1am, The Masons Arms, 665 Harrow Road, NW10, £15 per day, available from ticketline.co.uk. The first 100 tickets will be £10

Uptownboogie down, Notting Hill Arts Club
Joining Artizan Music's Jafar, Maxime Cescau and Andy Touchfingers is Keith Franklin, plus new artists in residence, 3Megabits.
Sunday, 4pm-1am, Notting Hill Arts Club, 21 Notting Hill Gate, W11, £8

Tayo's Tracksuit Party, Paradise By Way of Kensal Green
Breaks and baile funk maestro Tayo has seen his tracksuit party become a firm west London favourite. The style is old-school block party, with tunes supplied by Tayo, Joe Ransom, Ben Westbeech and more.
Sunday, midday-3am, Paradise By Way of Kensal Green, 19 Kilburn Lane, W10, £10

Guide by Scott Manson, London Lite

 

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