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Parks
and Gardens
London
is particularly rich in parks, gardens, commons, forests and
heath-land with over 80 parks within ten miles of the centre of
London. They are all that remain of early London’s natural
surrounding countryside and range from the vast open spaces of
Richmond Park to the manicured gardens of Regent’s Park. Left by
accident, gift, or longsighted social intention, they provide a
welcome breathing space. The ten royal parks are still property of the
Crown and were originally the grounds of royal homes or palaces. All
parks are free, but there may be changes for some facilities.
Battersea Park SW11
0181-871 7530. An interesting riverside park of 200 acres (81ha)
which was a favourite dueling spot in the early 19thC. Redesigned in
the 1950s for the Festival of Britain. Boating lake, deer park and
children’s zoo. The London Peace Pagoda which stands close to the
river was built by monks and nuns of the Japenese Buddhist order
Nipponzan Myohoji and completed in 1985. Based on ancient Indian and
Japenese designs, it stands at 110ft (33.5m) and has a double roof.
The park also contains the Pump House art gallery and a herb garden.
All-weather sports surface. Floodlit football pitch. Easter Show.
Park, playing fields, athletics track, tennis courts.
Crystal Palace Park SE20
0181-778 7148. Named after Paxton’s 1851 Great Exhibition
building which was moved here from Hyde Park and unfortunately burnt
to the ground in 1936; the vast, impressive ruins still remain. Now a
national Youth & Sports Centre with an Olympic swimming pool and
fine modern sports stadium in an open park of 70 acres (28.4ha). Has
boating lake with pedalos (in summer). Fishing lake; four islands in
the lake are ‘colonised’ by 20 life-sized replicas of primeval
animals. Playpark, farmyard, shire horse cart rides, ranger-guided
walks, circular maze.
Epping Forrest, Essex
6000 acres (2430ha) of natural woodland, six miles long and two
miles wide stretching from Chingford to Epping. It was ‘dedicated to
the delectation of the public forever’ in 1878. Many hornbeam, oak,
ash, maple, beech and birch trees; it also offers a superb variety of
all kinds of natural life – so many gray squirrels that they have
become a problem. High Beech is a popular spot and there are large
areas to ramble through where you can get thoroughly lost, or even
stumble upon the remains of two ancient British camps at least 2000
years old – Loughton Camp and Ambersbury Banks.
Greenwich Park SE10
0181-858 2608. A royal park of 200 acres (81ha) with pleasant
avenues lined with chestnut trees, sloping down to the Thames.
Impressive views of the river and two classic buildings: the Queen’s
House by Inigo Jones and the Royal Naval College (once a Tudor royal
palace). Contains the National Maritime Museum and the Royal
Observatory. 13 acres (5.3ha) of wooded deer park, a bird sanctuary
and Bronze age tumuli. Children’s boating lake; entertainment in
summer.
Hampstead Heath NW3
0171-485 4491/0181-455 5183. Open, hilly 800 acres (324ha) of park
and woods. Fine views of London. Foxes can sometimes be seen. Crowded
on Bank holidays with visitors to the famous fair and the equally
famous pubs – the Bull & Bush, Spaniard’s Inn and Jack
Straw’s Castle. Includes Parliament Hill (the place for
kite-flyers), Golders Hill (containing a fine English town garden) and
Kenwood. Ponds, open-air concerts in summer, tennis courts. Olympic
track, orienteering, cricket, football, rugby, rounders, horse-riding.
Also swimming in Hampstead Ponds, a children’s zoo and bandstand at
Golders Hill, and much of interest to the ornithologist (over 100
species). OPEN 24 hrs.
Hyde Park W1
0171-298 2100. A royal park since 1536, it was once part of the
forest reserved by Henry VII for hunting wild boar and bulls. Queen
Elizabeth I held military reviews here (still held on special
occasions). It was the haunt of hughwaymen until 1750 and even today
is patrolled at night by police. The Great Exhibition of 1851 was held
opposite Prince of Wales Gate. Hyde Park now has 360 acres (137.7ha)
of parkland, walks, Rotten Row for horse-riders, and the Serpentine
– a fine lake for boating and swimming. The Sepentine Bridge is by
George Rennie, 1826. The famous Speaker’s Corner, a tribute to
British democracy, is near Marble Arch – public executions were held
at Tyburn gallows nearby until 1783. Baseball and soft-ball often
played. Bandstand used in summer. OPEN 05.00-24.00.
Kensington Gardens W8
0171-298 2117. A formal and elegant addition to hyde Park; when
the gardens were first opened to the public, soldiers, sailors and
servants were not allowed in ! 275 ACRES (111.4HA) of royal park
containing William III’s lovely Kensington Palace, Queen Anne’s
Orangery, the peaceful ‘Sunken Garden’ nearby, the Round Pond,
perfect for sailing model boats, and, on the south, the magnificent
Albert Memorial – the nation’s monument to Queen Victoria’s
husband. The famous Broad Walk, originally flanked by ancient elms, is
now replanted with fragrant limes and maples, and the nearby ‘Flower
Walk’ is the home of wild birds, woodpeckers, flycatchers and
tree-creepers. Queen Caroline produced both the Long Water (Peter
Pan’s statue is here) and the Serpentine by ordering the damning of
the Westbourne river. A stone balustrade seperates the Long Water from
formal ponds and fountains. Good children’s playground with the
Elfin Oak, carved with lots of birds and animals.
Regent’s Park NW1
0171-486 7905. A royal park of 472 acres (191ha), it was
originally part of Henry VII’s great hunting forest in the 16thC.
The Prince Regent in 1811 planned to connect the park (and a new
palace) via the newly built Regent Street to Carlton House. Although
never fully completed, the design (1812-26) by John Nash is of great
distinction. It forms two concentric circles – the Inner with
gardens and Outer with Regency terraces and imposing gateways.
Contains London Zoo, the Regent’s Canal, a fine boating lake with 30
species of birds, a bandstand, fragrant flower gardens and the very
fine Queen Mary’s Rose Garden. It is also home to the golden-domed
London Mosque. Open-air theatre. Restaurant and cafeterias. Sports
facilities include football, baseball, softball, cricket, hockey and
rugby. There are also tennis courts and an athletics track.
Richmond Park, Surrey
0181-948 3209. The largest and wildest of London’s royal parks;
2358 acres (954.2ha) first enclosed as a hunting ground by Charles I
in 1637. Retains all the qualities of a great English feudal estate
– a natural open park of spinneys and plantations, bracken and
ancient oaks (survivors of the great oak forests of the Middle Ages)
and over 600 red and fallow deer. Badgers, weasels and the occasional
fox can be seen. Pen Ponds are well stocked with fish. Fine views of
the Thames valley from White Lodge (early 18thC and once a royal
residence) and the restaurant of Pembroke Lodge. Golf, riding, polo
(for spectators), rugby, football.
Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew
Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey. 0181-940 1171. Superb botanical
gardens of 300 acres (121.5ha). Founded in 1759 by Princess Augusta.
Delightful natural gardens and woods bounded by the river on one side,
and stocked with thousands of flowers and trees. The lake, aquatic
garden and pagoda were designed by Sir William Chambers in 1760. The
magnificent curved glass Palm House and the Temperate House, 1844-8,
are by Decimus Burton. Beneath the Palm House is a Marine Display
which has examples of flowering marine plants and coral reef. The
Princess of Wales Conservatory houses orchids and cacti, and water
lilies the size of mattresses. Kew’s scientific aspect was developed
by its two directors Sir William and Sir Joseph Hooker and the many
Famous botanists who worked here. 17thC Queen’s Garden with formal
rosebed. Cafeteria and gift shop in the Orangery. 1-hr tours available
from the Victoria Gate Visitor Centre.
St James’s Park &
Green Park SW1
0171-930 1793. St James’s Park is the oldest royal park,
acquired in 1532 by henry VIII, laid out in imitation ‘Versailles’
style by Charles II and finally redesigned in the grand manner for
George IV by John Nash in the 1820s. A most attractive park with fine
promenades and walks, and a romantic Chinese-style lake, bridge, and
weeping willows. The bird sanctuary on Duck Island has some
magnificent pelicans and over 20 species of duck and goose. Good views
of Buckingham Palace, the grand sweep of Carlton House Terrace, the
domes and spires of Whitehall and, to the south, Westminster Abbey.
The Mall and Constitution Hill are frequently part of ceremonial and
royal occasions. Bandstand used in summer. Green Park is just that –
a welcome green space in the heart of London with an abundance of
lime, plane and hawthorn trees.
Victoria Park E9
0181-985 1957. With 217
acres (87.9ha) and a four-mile perimeter, this park was known as
‘the lung of the East End’; it is also the oldest enclosed park,
established in 1845 by Sir James Pennythorne (who also laid out
Battersea Park). Several listed historical buildings survive; of note
are two alcoves from the original London Bridge which were placed at
the east end of the park in 1861, a splendid drinking fountain erected
for Burdett Coutts, and two gate pillars at Bonner Bridge. The four
gate lodges also date back to 1850. Of natural interest are planes,
oaks, birches, hawthorns, cherries, honey locusts, gladitsia, a
Kentucky coffee tree and a bitter orange. Also fallow deer and various
fowl. A wide variety of sports facilities for football, tennis,
cricket, bowling, hockey and softball; athletics track; fishing lake.
Children’s play areas.
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