London might be a city known for its towering skyscrapers, busy rivers and corporate accommodation in London’s West End, but it’s also officially a “green city”. This means that 30 % of London is made up of green space, including gardens, parks and nature reserves all around its 1500 square kilometre span.
With summer well under way and the school holidays having just started, locals and guests of the discount hotels in the West End of London alike will be looking for ways to enjoy the sunshine. Thankfully, there are plenty of parks and green spaces that make the most of the city’s landmarks and beauty. From summer festivals to historic monuments, London’s system of parks are multifaceted paeans to the city’s heritage.
This blog will explore the many peaceful, playful and picturesque parks of London. With many of them easy to reach from Piccadilly London West End special offer hotels, first time visitors in London can learn for themselves why the English capital is one of the greenest cities in the country, even if it doesn’t look like it on the surface!
Hyde Park
One of the most famous parks in London, Hyde Park dates back to the Tudor era and overlooks such landmarks as Buckingham Palace and Marble Arch. The park itself spans 350 acres and boasts a wealth of landmarks and attractions such as the Serpentine Lido and Lake, the Princess Diana Memorial and Speakers’ Corner. Hyde Park also hosts festivals and music events throughout the year, taking advantage of the Royal Park’s large fields and central location. These include the British SUmmer Time and BBC Proms IN The Park music festivals alongside the Winter Wonderland Christmas fair in November and December.
Kensington Gardens
Connected directly with Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens were once a part of Hyde Park before it was separated for Queen Caroline during the 1730s as her private gardens. The park is now distinctly more formal than Hyde Park, with sunken gardens and monuments to Victoria herself overlooking the idyllic Kensington Palace, home to Prince WIlliam and Princess Kate of Cambridge. The park is also adjacent to attractions like the Royal Albert Hall and for botanists, the array of beautiful flower beds and gardens will definitely put a smile on your face.
Alongside the surrounding attractions, the serene Kensington Gardens is also home to the Serpentine Gallery, two exhibition spaces located by the Serpentine Bridge
Greenwich Park
Greenwich Park is home to one of the best views of London. Once you arrive in this southeastern royal park, take the walk up towards the Greenwich Observatory, a famed star gazing centre that has existed for hundreds of years. The view from atop this hill provides stunning vistas over the River Thames, Canary Wharf and the centre of London in the distance. On top of this, Greenwich Park Observatory is located on the line of Greenwich Meridian, a key navigational point from which global coordinates are measured from, and indeed the country’s time zone. Better check your watches then!
Regent’s Park
One of the royal parks with the largest number of tourist attractions, Regent’s Park is not only host to the world’s oldest scientific zoo and an open air theatre, but showcases beautiful rose gardens, large playing fields and leafy idylls in the heart of London. Linking onto Primrose Hill, visitors can enjoy beautiful views from atop this ancient hill.
Richmond Park
Head west to the end of the Overground and District Line and you’ll end up at one of London’s favourite parks. Opened by Charles I as a deer hunting park close to the now vanished Richmond Palace, the park is still home to semi wild deer and woodland, with stunning views over the Western sprawl of the Thames.
Bushy Park
Adjacent to Richmond Park and bordering the town of Kingston Upon Thames, Bushy Park shares much of the same sort of terrain as Richmond, but dates back thousands of years. With features built on the park by Christopher Wren and a wealth of Hampton adjacent attractions. Spanning a thousand acres, Bushy Park is a trek to get to from central London but well worth it, especially in the summer months.
Victoria Park
Hackney’s “People’s Park”, this East London idyll was opened by Queen Victoria and runs alongside a beautiful canal system. With a skate park, Chinese pagodas and plenty of waterside spots for picnicking, this park is also host to music festivals during the summer, establishing it as one of the most popular parks in the East of London.
Hackney Marshes
The lower end of the Lea Valley land formation, Hackney Marshes is another eastern green space that plays host to wetlands, sports fields and walking tracks. With a network of Overground trains running through this 336 acre area. The Hackney Marshes are situated close to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and you can walk through both by following the River Lee towards Stratford.
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St James’s Park
Easy to reach for guests of the Piccadilly Hotel London, St James’s Park backs onto Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park Corner. The Westminster park is a popular hangout for civil servants and workers at Downing Street and sitting amidst these fields will make you feel like you’re in the heart of the action. Compared to other Royal Parks, St James’s is quite small at just 57 acres but is a great place to relax and take a breather during your London sightseeing.
Crystal Palace Park
South London hasn’t had a look in on this rundown of London’s favourite parks, but south Londoners in the Tooting and Crystal Palace area love this sweeping selection of fields and pondside walks. Two main standouts of Crystal Palace are the anatomically incorrect Victorian dinosaur statues and surprisingly fiendish maze in its heart. Though the park was built to accommodate the relocation of the Great Exhibition’s Crystal Palace, the large building was lost in a fire, which luckily didn’t destroy the 200 acre Victorian pleasure garden.
Hampstead Heath
The beautiful northwest part of Hampstead has a village-like quality to it, the heath itself being the closest to countryside you’ll get in London. At 800 acres, the heath’s many ponds and woodland trails are bordered by rustic pubs and bakeries in the affluent Hampstead Village area.
