Welcome to the green side of London!
Although the capital city of the United Kingdom is known for several symbols like the pound, the Buckingham Palace, Her Majesty, the black cabs, many tourists and inhabitants associate it with splendid parks, picnics, concerts, sport and mainly having a good time. You will read below some interesting info about the most beautiful green areas in London.
Hyde Park is the main attraction, being placed right in the center of London. The means of entertaining vary from boating and horse riding to jogging or sun bathing. If you want to take a coffee break or a quick lunch, you will find many restaurants. When enjoying a nice walk, you can visit famous monuments, fountains and statues, like The Serpentine Bridge, London’s Holocaust Memorial and the Diana Memorial Fountain. Hyde Park is also known for the number of held protests, such as the Liberty and Livelihood March (2002). For music fans, there are always great concerts. Some of the artists who performed here over time are Pink Floyd, Queen, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Pink and Madonna. The Grand Entrance to the park was designed after the sketches of Decimus Burton.
Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill is famous for its splendid rose gardens. The great architect John Nash has designed it in the year 1811. It is perfect for outdoor people, who enjoy playing sports like softball, football and cricket. If you want to have the most beautiful view of London, then go to the top of Primrose Hill. You can hang out with your friends and family at a number of interesting places, including The Boathouse Café, The Garden Café, The Honest Sausage and the Tennis Centre Café. You can even stumble upon a series of celebrities. Daniel Craig, Enrique Iglesias, Eva Green, Gwen Stefani and her husband (Gavin Rossdale), Helena Bonham Carter, Jude Law, Kate Hudson, Kate Moss, Rachel Weisz, Rita Ora, Sienna Miller, Simon Callow, Sophie Ellis-Baxtor and Tim Burton are just some of the names that used to or live now in this area.
Richmond Park is the largest Royal Park (955 hectares or 2,360 acres) in London. For people who love nature, this place has an ideal landscape formed by a number of interesting ponds, plants and animals (over 600 red and fallow deer, mandarin ducks, etc.). As means of entertainment, you can choose between two golf courses, a pond, horse-riding tracks and a cycling route. It always had an important role during the Summer Olympics. In 1948 an Olympic village has been built here and in 2012 the cycling participants had to pass through the park. There are several Gates, each one with its particular history: the Bog Gate, the Kitchen Garden Gate (has never been open to the public), the Sheen Gate, the Roehampton Gate, the Chohole Gate, the Robin Hood Gate (one of the six original gates), Ladderstile Gate, Kingston Gate, Ham Gate, Petersham Gate, Richmond Gate, Bishop’s Gate and Cambrian Road Gate.
The parks above are just some of the many beautiful green areas in London. We would recommend you to also visit St James’s Park (known for its bird variety: water birds, plus owls, woodpeckers and bats), Victoria Park (with its many pop and rock concerts), Greenwich Park (where you can play cricket and tennis), Hampstead Heath (with its remarkable range of natural habitats) and Lee Valley Regional Park (where you can stay in the special campsites and enjoy a wide variety of sport activities).
