Parks »
An A-Z of parks and gardens to visit in London
Central London
Chelsea Physic Garden
66 Royal Hospital Road Chelsea SW3 4HS
This botanic garden was founded in 1673 to investigate the medicinal role of plants. It played a major role in the development of the sciences of botany and horticulture. There is a garden shop selling plants.
Green Park
Northern neighbor to Buckingham Palace, Charles II used to stroll here. Indeed, Constitution Hill, on the northern border of the park, commemorates Charles' excursions. The park is better known as the meeting ground for duelists, and many a corpse must have lain on the now peaceful grass.
Hampstead Heath
The largest open space in Greater London, the heath was once home to highwaymen, but now it is a multi-purpose green space with the best panoramic views of the city. Historic Kenwood House is on the northern border of the heath.
Hyde Park Once a hunting ground for Henry VIII, Hyde Park's character stems from the Serpentine Lake, home to waterfowl and sweating oarsmen. Rotten Row, on the southern boundary of the park, is a famous horse-riding area, and Speaker's Corner, by the Marble Arch entrance, is the the place to listen to soap-box orators. on Sunday mornings.
Kensington Gardens
The border between Hyde Park and Kensington Park is vague, but the characters of the parks are quite diffferent. Kensington Gardens was once part of Hyde Park, until William IV enclosed it to become the gardens for Kensington Palace to the west. The Gardens are more orderly and formal than Hyde Park, with a sunken garden and a rectangular pond by the palace. By Long Water is a statue of Peter Pan, whose author, JM Barrie, donated the children's swings nearby.
Primrose Hill
62 acres on a high hill affording excellent panoramic views of central London. Primrose Hill was once part of the same royal forest as Regent's Park
Regents Park
Once the royal hunting ground of Marylebone Park, Regent's Park was part of a vast redevelopment plan by the Prince Regent, later George IV. The Inner Circle now contains Queen Mary's Garden, fed by the underground Tyburn River. There is space for sailing, tennis, archery, and boating on the Regent's Park Canal.
St. James Park
An oasis of calm in the bustle of the West End, St. James Park is bounded by The Mall and Birdcage Walk, while its westernmost end lies practically on the doorstep of Buckingham Palace. The area was a deer park under Henry VIII, a formal garden under Charles II, and was remodeled into its present relaxed air by John Nash in 1828. The central lake is home to large populations of ducks and pelicans.
Outside London
Battersea Park, SW11
This park by the river has sub-tropical and wildflower gardens, a deer park, a miniature railway for children, and a small zoo.
Bushy Park
The double-row of enormous chestnut trees planted by Christopher Wren strike the only formal note in the otherwise delightfully informal Bushy Park. Langford River, in the park, was built by order of Charles I as a source of water for Hampton Court.
Crystal Palace Park, SE19
The 200 acre park is named after the iron and glass exhibition hall built for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace was moved here in 1854, but burned down in 1936. There are excellent sports facilities in the park.
Epping Forest
This 12 mile belt of green is a forlorn remnant of the vast forest which once covered all of southern England. The northern section is thick with trees, punctuated by wide green parkland. There is a sanctuary for black fallow deer, and livestock graze in the woods. There is a museum of the area's natural history in Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, a half-timbered 15th century house.
Greenwich Park
Charles II commissioned Andre Le Notre, designer of Versailles, to formalise the hunting park at Greenwich. Much of the treed park is Le Notre's work, but there is also the small Wilderness, home to a herd of fallow deeer, and a large play area. The former Royal observatory is on the western edge of the park, while to the south is Queen's House, and the Royal Naval College.
Hampton Court
The gardens of Hampton Court Palace have everything; superb formal gardens of great variety, and open parkland. There is the famous hedge maze, a Tudor knot garden, Rose Garden, Privy Garden, and Herb Garden, to name just a few. Hampton Court is also home to a yearly flower festival.
Holland Park, W8
Until recently this was the private garden of Holland House, there are formal flowerbeds of tulips and roses, yucca and irises. Formal paths give this garden a very businesslike air.
Kew Gardens
Three hundred acres of botanical delights grace Kew Gardens. The gardens were once royal property, but opened to the public in 1841. The Palm House is a wonder of glass, and other Victorian greenhouses are home to a vast variety of exotic plants from around the world.
Morden Hall Park
Morden Hall Road, Morden, London SM4 5JD, Tel 020 8545 6850, Fax 020 8687 0094
This oasis in the heart of suburbia covers over 50ha (125 acres) of parkland with the River Wandle meandering through. There is an old Snuff Mill, now an environmental centre and a variety of bridges traversing the river. The park has hay meadows, old estate buildings and an impressive rose garden with over 2000 roses. The workshops house local craftworkers and there is also an independently run garden centre and a city farm. This property is owned by The National Trust.
Osterly Park, Osterly
There are formal gardens around the house at Osterley, designed by Robert Adam, and parkland carefully landscaped to look natural. Over 100 acres of countyside seclusion in the midst of urban London.
Richmond Park
Deer wander through this former royal estate, enclosed by Charles I. King Henry's Mound was built so that Henry could watch the deer being hunted. There are ponds for model boating and angling, and a variety of exotic shrubs and flowers.
Syon Park, Isleworth
Across the Thames from Kew Gardens lies Britain's first gardening centre at Syon Park. The park itself was laid out by Capability Brown, but the centrepiece is the glass Conservatory, with superb tropical plants.
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