There are eight Royal Parks in London, 5 in central London and 3 more in the suburbs. These parks are known as Royal Parks because they sit on 5,000 acres of hereditary land of the English Monarchy. All of them are under the care of the Royal Parks Agency, who derived its powers from the Crown Lands Act. The agency manages, secures, and preserves the parks by regulating access and setting the rules for usage. We will be discussing each and every one of these Royal Parks, including their sites and amenities.
Hyde Park
Hyde Park’s Serpentine Lake
This is one of the largest parks in central London. Five London Underground stations lead to it so it’s not that difficult to find: Hyde Park Corner, Kightsbridge, Queensway, Lancaster Gate, and Marble Arch.
Hyde Park covers 350 acres of land, divided into two by the Serpentine Lake. Its Grand Entrance was made by famous English architect and garden designer Decimus Burton in 1824. Composed of Ionic columns, the 33 meter long Grand Entrance has three carriage archways and two foot entrances. The sides of the central archway are decorated with a frieze that represents a naval and military parade. The gates are made of iron, bronze and gun metal.
Some of the more famous locations within the park are Speakers’ Corner, Hyde Park Corner, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, and the Holocaust Memorial.
Speaker’s Corner, found in the northeast corner of the park, is an area designated for public speaking (as long as the speeches are kept lawful). Some of the famous public speakers who have frequented the corner are Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, George Orwell, and William Morris.
Hyde Park Corner, found in the southeast, is a central area where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill intersect. Here you will find the Wellington Arch, a memorial to the Duke of Wellington that was designed by Burton, among other amazing monuments and statues.
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, found in the southwest corner, was laid in September 2003, and was officially opened to the public on July 6, 2004. The design, made by American landscape artist Kathryn Gustafson, reflected the welcoming personality of Princess Diana.
The Holocaust Memorial, found to the east of Serpentine Lake, was made by Mark Badger in 1983. It consists of two boulders on raked gravel that are surrounded by silver birch trees. It reads “For these I weep. Streams of tears flow from my eyes because of the destruction of my people”
Hyde Park is open from 5 in the morning until 12 midnight.
Kensington Gardens
The Albert Memorial at Kensington Gardens
This was named such because it was once the private garden of Kensington Palace. Found right adjacent to Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens covers 275 acres of land.
Kensington Gardens was laid by Henry Wise and Charles Bridgeman from 1728-1738, complete with the Round Pond, formal avenues and a sunken Dutch garden.
Bridgeman was also responsible for creating the Serpentine Lake in the 1730s. The part of the lake within Kensington Gardens is known as “The Long Water.” In one end of the Long Water is the Italian Garden, which is composed of four fountains and a classical sculpture.
Other sites worth mentioning are the Albert Memorial, the Serpentine Gallery, and Speke’s monument.
The Albert Memorial, found at the southeast corner, is a 54 meter tall pavilion that contains a statue of Prince Albert. It was commissioned by his wife Queen Victoria after the prince died of typhoid. It took ten years to complete the memorial. The statue of Albert, created by John Henry Foley, faces towards the Royal Albert Hall. The seated prince is holding a catalogue of “The Great Exhibition” and is robed as a Knight of the Garter.
The Serpentine Gallery is one of London’s more famous art galleries. This collection of modern and contemporary art attracts 750,000 visitors per year. Entrance is free of charge.
Speke’s monument is an obelisk dedicated to British Indian army officer John Hanning Speke, who made three voyages to explore central Africa. He discovered the source of the Nile River, which he named after Queen Victoria.
The Green Park
Spring season in the Green Park
The Green Park covers about 53 acres of pure wooded meadows. Located between Hyde Park and St. James’s Park, this small park has neither a lake nor a statue. The only memorial you can find here is the Canada Memorial.
The Green Park serves as a central location to many of London’s popular places. It connects with St. James’s Park at the Victoria Memorial, which is found opposite the entrance to Buckingham Palace. South of the park is The Mall. The Green Park station of the London Underground intersects the Piccadilly, Victoria and Jubilee lines.
The Regent’s Park
The boating lake and bandstand at the Regent’s Park
This relatively huge Royal Park, found in the northern part of central London, covers 487 acres of land. You can reach the park through the London Underground stations of the Regent’s Park, Baker Street, and Great Portland Street. The wide area of this open parkland has many facilities open for the public’s enjoyment: gardens, sports pitches, playgrounds, a heronry, a lake, and a boating area.
The park is further divided into two parts, the Outer and Inner Circle. In the Inner Circle you will find Queen Mary’s Gardens. This garden is the most kept area in the whole park. This is also where you will find the Open Air Theatre, where resident company New Shakespeare Company performs “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” each season, among other Shakespeare plays and children’s musicals.
Just outside the southern part of the Inner Circle is Regent’s College: a group of buildings that comprises six schools - European Business School London, British American College London, Regent’s Business School, School of Psychotherapy and Counseling, Webster Graduate School, and Internexus.
In the park you will also find the Winfield House, the official residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. This mansion covers 12 acres of the parkland. Aside from the Winfield House, there are 8 other villas that call (or called) the park its home: Grove House - a private residence that has one of the largest private gardens in central London; Hanover Lodge – another private residence; Albany Cottage – demolished and is currently part of the London Central Mosque; Holford House – bombed during WWII and demolished in 1948; St. John’s Lodge – also a private residence, whose garden allows public access; The Holme – private residence; South Villa – former site of George Bishop’s Observatory and currently a part of Regent’s College; and Sir H. Taylor’s Villa – demolished.
Last and definitely not the least, the most famous “attraction” in the entire park… the London Zoo. This is the world’s oldest scientific zoo which opened in April 27, 1828, although only made public 19 years later. Based on 2006 stats, this zoo is home to a total of 16,802 animals belonging to 704 different species. It is under the management of the Zoological Society of London. Aside from being the first scientific zoo, it is also made its mark in history as the first reptile house (1849), the first public aquarium (1853), first insect house (1881) and the first children’s zoo (1938).
St. James’s Park
The lovely flowers at St. James’s Park
Aside from being one of the smallest, St. James’s Park is the oldest of all the Royal Parks. This 58 acre park is found in Westminster – in a “central” location with Buckingham Palace to its west, The Mall to its north, Horse Guards Road to its east, and Birdcage Walk Street to its south. London Underground stations nearest the park are St. James’s Park, Victoria, and Westminster.
The park has its own lake called St. James’s Park Lake. In the middle of the lake are two islands: Duck’s and West. Across the lake is a bridge that offers a stunning view of Buckingham Palace.
Bushy Park
Autumn season in Bushy Park
Bushy Park covers 1,100 acres of land, making it the second largest Royal Park. The closest London Underground stations are Hampton Court, Hampton Wick, Teddington, Fulwell, and Hampton. Bushy Park gets an average of 2 million visitors each year. Its distinctive landscape of ponds and streams are home to a number of wildlife, with roaming deer numbering in the three hundreds. The area was once deer-hunting grounds for Henry VIII, who was given the land by Thomas Cardinal Wolsey in 1529. Before, the entire land area of Bushy Park actually comprised three parks: Hare Warren, Middle Park and Bushy Park.
In this park you will find the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the largest applied physics organization in the United Kingdom. The NPL was a former royal residence called Bushy House, built in the late 1600s. The enormous land area of Bushy Park is home to several lodges like the original Bushy House. Some of them still remain while some have been transformed to accommodate more modern facilities. The flat site of the parkland has been settled on for more than 4,000 years.
One of the reasons why Bushy Park was opened was to provide grounds for sports. That is why several teams can be found in the park: the Teddington Rugby Club, the Teddington Hockey Club, the Hampton Wick Royal Cricket Club and the Hampton Hill Cricket Club. In the park you will also find the King’s Field Tennis Courts and the Hampton Heated Open Air Pool and Fitness Gym. In season, you can even fish in the park’s ponds.
Greenwich Park
A great view of London from the Royal Observatory
Greenwich Park covers 183 acres of land. This former hunting ground is found in the southeastern area of London and forms part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site. Greenwich has its own Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station.
An area of the park encloses a hillside which delineates the park into two. You can find most of the amenities and sites on the upper part: a flower garden, a rose garden, a duck pond, chestnut trees, a cricket pitch, tennis courts, a bandstand, an ancient oak tree (called The Queens Oak), and an enclosure (called The Wilderness) which is home to many wild deer. On the lower part you can find a playground, an herb garden and a lake which is available for boating. All around the park are bike routes, which are also often used by runners, skaters, dog walkers, and the like.
On top of the hill is the most famous site in Greenwich Park, the Royal Observatory. This observatory was commissioned by King Charles II in 1675. Today, the buildings of the observatory are used for other purposes as well. This includes a museum of astronomical and navigational tools which is part of the National Maritime Museum. Then there’s the 120 seat Peter Harrison Planetarium which opened just a year ago.
From inside the observatory you will see a green laser light pulsating from a hole in its upper wall. This represents the Prime Meridian, the global basis for longitude. Also of note is the Shepherd Gate Clock mounted on the wall outside the gate of the observatory, which was installed in 1852. Aside from being one of the first electric clocks in the world, this unique analog clock shows 24 hours instead of just 12.
Richmond Park
The famous deer of Richmond Park
Last and certainly not the least is the largest Royal Park. Covering 2,360 acres of land, the Richmond Park is also the country’s largest urban walled park. You can reach it by via the London Underground Richmond station. Famous for its Red and Fallow Deer, this huge parkland contains many notable listed buildings.
Pembroke Lodge is one of them. This elegant Georgian mansion covers over 11 acres of the parkland. Its prime location on higher ground offers great views of the surrounding areas. And the best view is from what they call King Henry VIII’s Mound, located in the lodge’s gardens. One of the mound’s famous views, that of St. Paul’s Cathedral some 16 kilometers away, has been protected since the early 1700s. Pembroke Lodge is now a famous restaurant which is often booked for large gatherings like weddings and conferences.
Another notable establishment is White Lodge. Also of Georgian origin, this former royal residence now houses the Royal Ballet Lower School, who took over the premises in 1955.
The park also boasts of its Isabella Plantation, a woodland garden rich in beautiful flora and fauna. The area, which is now run on organic principles, is smothered with exotic plants - from better known varieties like camellias, magnolias, daffodils and bluebells to azaleas and rhododendrons. They have 15 known varieties of azaleas and 50 varieties of rhododendrons. During the summer season, flowers in bloom include Japanese irises and day lilies, and by autumn guelder roses.
As for animals, resident bird species include redpoll, bullfinch, wood pecker, sparrow hawk and tawny owl. And for waterfowl they have pintails, tufted ducks and pochards. Like some of the flowers, birds also come and go with the season: wood warbler, redstart and whitethroat can be seen during spring; blackcap and spotted flycatcher in summer; green sandpiper in autumn; and siskin and reed bunting in winter.
With the huge land area, the park is perfect for many sports activities. A number of local stables inside the park offer horses to be ridden on the premises. Also, a section of the grassland is home to the Roslyn Park Rugby Football Club. On occasion, the same field is used by the Ham Polo Club for polo training and matches. The parkland is also perfect for cycling. If you don’t have your own bike, you can rent from the park and cover as much of its grounds as you can on two wheels. You can also fish in the ponds for a paid permit.
If you’re feeling more adventurous, you can try a new sport which calls the park its home - “power kiting” is like wakeboarding but instead of being pulled by a boat you are pulled by a kite, and instead of doing it on water, you’re doing it on grassland.
Richmond Park also has two 18-hole courses available under “pay and play” arrangement.
