Hyde Park

It’s almost hard to fathom just how big Hyde Park is when you look at it on a map. It’s huge and such an amazing experience walking through it taking in all the various little gardens and areas that it has to offer. I would definitely recommend getting yourself a large flat white, a bottle of water and spending the afternoon wandering around. It will take you a while to walk round but afterwards you’ll feel entirely rejuvenated!

We walked through Hyde Park as a "shortcut" to get down to Kensington and the Victoria & Albert Museum. It was a beautiful, sunny winter day and there were many people out enjoying the ambiance and weather. The Princess Diana Memorial Playground was crowded with kids on swings and running around. People were feeding the many ducks, birds and swans around the Pond area. Hyde Park is a nice reprieve from the city life around it and provides a peaceful respite in a beautiful setting. Definitely worth a detour!

It is interesting to compare the differences between our great royal parks which are an incredible heritage in London.

Last Sunday, I had been at the west end of the Serpentine which was quite and refined; today I visited the east end which was the more lively and busy end with pedalos negotiating the swans and the cafe ooen for food and drink in a safe way.

There are many different aspects to Hyde Park including the different memorials and sculptures and the Rose Garden

The only thing you have to beware of as a pedestrian are the cycle paths - I had the same experience in Copenhagen. This is the new world!!

For some strange reason on this visit to London everything I wanted to see or do was located in the park or nearby .. it is a large space and I think it would take all of a day to walk all of it’s paths and to visit all it offers from speakers corner to the serpentine lake . The weather was dry if not particular warm and this made being in the park pleasant enough . I would imagine it gets very busy in the summer . Well worth a visit .

My first caveat is that our visit coincided with the freak heatwave of mid July 2022 so the chances for frustration were always going to be magnified. However, there is no excuse for the lack of signage to guide you around the park.

Because of the heat we had planned our visit so see the Princess Diana memorial fountain with our 10 year old granddaughter. We asked the taxi driver to drop us at the most convenient entrance which maybe he did,or maybe he didn’t, because we never found it.

Once inside the park Google maps lost the plot and reverted to “head North, redirect..head South” etc. So we followed the only sign pointing to the fountain and followed the plates donating the memorial trail on the pathways. One hour later we returned to where we had started.

The most worrying thing, halfway round my wife and grand daughter started to complain of the heat and wanted to leave….I had no idea where there was a convenient exit and couldn’t trust Google to help…that’s not a criticism of Google but directed at the park authorities.

Without doubt the most unrewarding and stressful visit of our holiday. Why there are virtually no signs to guide you round the park is a complete mystery..perhaps the want tourists to get lost to leave it for the local joggers, cyclists and skateboarders.

During my week in London I found myself kicking back for a nap in Hyde Park on more than one occasion. There is a lovely spoke for coffee on the east side of the lake, were droves of people can be seen laid out on the grass around the lake having picnics, taking naps, etc.

Just be aware of London's spontaneous showers. Work up at one point to see people frantically running for cover at the aforementioned restaurant while a wall of rain was moving across the lake towards us.

A romantic strol through the park with swans, cafes, museums and a palace, don't forget to have scones at Kensington Palace with tea fit for a Princess. Everyone was friendly helpful. There are boats, running, walking. Locals walking there dogs- crowed on the weekends, yet very festive

London is blessed with open spaces. There are 8 Royal Parks - lands that were originally owned by the monarchy, and which today remain part of the hereditary possessions of the crown. Five of these parks are more or less in central London: Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, St James’s Park, Green Park and Regent’s Park. There are also lots of other smaller spaces such as the Victoria Tower Gardens by the Houses of Parliament.

Visitors to London are therefore spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding which parks to visit. And it comes down to a matter of personal choice, based on exactly what you are looking for.

Hyde Park goes back to Henry VIII, when it was one of his hunting grounds. But the forest that it was is long gone, and these days Hyde Park is largely an open grassy space. It’s a major venue for concerts, Christmas festivals such as ‘Winter Wonderland’ and large gatherings. If you are visiting during one of these events, a large part of the park will be closed off. It’s also the gathering site for protests and demonstrations.

There’s a lot of grass great for picnics and games, but not particularly beautiful to see! So keep this in mind when considering a visit.

Further, if you are looking for specific attractions to see within the park, you’re not going to find to many in Hyde Park (you may be better off visiting Kensington Gardens). Hyde Park has just a few: a small rose garden by the entrance at Hyde Park Corner (beside Apsley House), some patches of manicured gardens, a large boating lake (The Serpentine), and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain (though it was not functioning at the time of my visit). There’s also Speakers Corner at the Marble Arch end of the park; in this corner of the park open air public speaking, debate and discussion is allowed, usually on a Sunday morning. I’m not sure of the current situation here with the pandemic.

There’s a number of cafes and toilet facilities in the park, as well as some pleasant tree-lined avenues. But as already mentioned, it’s largely open space. If you’re a jogger or a horse rider, it’s probably the park for you. If you are looking for ‘attractions’, you’re better off continuing west through Hyde Park into Kensington Gardens, or visit the smaller and prettier St James’s Park by Buckingham Palace.

My favourite time to visit is early spring, when the crocuses poke through the grass and carpet some of the lawns with colour.

Regular visitor to the park and the adjoining Kensington Gardens. Vast area and so many walks possible from a simple walk around the lake to doing the whole perimeter. Would recommend walking alone the lake, over the road and up to the Italian gardens before heading to Kensington palace and coming back along the other side of the lake.

Italian garden at the "Long water" end were a pleasant surprise.

Cola at £2.30 was a shock, bring your own drinks. But, the people who run the cafes, probably have to pay the relevant authority an arm and a leg for the pleasure of renting the premises.

Song thrushes hoping to be fed at the Lido were a pleasure. Grey squirrels were fun, as they show no fear and beg for food, although there are signs saying, do not feed, as they damage the trees.

Flowers were lovely.

Worth a visit, depening of course on your personal tastes.