London is said to be one of the greenest capitals in the world. This immediately becomes apparent if you go a few floors up. From the rooftops, even awful thoroughfares like Kingsway and Euston Road appear as verdant strips, with great London plane trees densely packed. But it is to the parks that we turn for a true taste of rus in urbe (or ‘country in the city’ for those not versed in Latin).
The Royal Parks
St James’s Park (St James’s Park)
Green Park (Green Park)
Hyde Park (Marble Arch, Lancaster Gate or Hyde Park Corner)
Kensington Gardens (Queensway)
The central Royal Parks are the most famous, and the most popular among tourists. Stately St James’s Park boasts the best groundsmanship, with numerous flower beds and an ornamental lake, where you can watch the park’s colony of pelicans attempt to swallow the pigeons (it really has been known). Neighbouring Green Park lacks any flower beds, hence its name. An old legend relates that Charles II’s queen caught the Merry Monarch parading with a mistress in the park. In a fit of pique, she ordered that all the flowers be plucked, and thus it remains to this day. The floral absence focuses more attention on the towering trees throughout the park. Look, too, for the sloping valley, carved out by the River Tyburn, now buried underground as a sewer.
The third park in the chain comprises Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, which stretch for a mile or so to the west of centre. The former is best suited for lounging or playing ball games, while a hardy bunch of swimmers take to the Serpentine lake in all weathers, most famously during the Christmas Day swim. Kensington Gardens, meanwhile, is more sedate, as you’d expect for the gardens surrounding Kensington Palace. This park contains many notable monuments including the Peter Pan statue and the Albert Memorial. Best of all, though, is the Elfin Oak to the northwest. This 900-year-old tree stump, originally from Richmond Park, is carved with dozens of elves and gnomes – a delight for children.
City of London pocket parks
Christ Church Greyfriars Newgate Street (St Paul’s)
Postman’s Park St Martin’s Le-Grand (St Paul’s)
St Dunstan-in-the-East St Dunstan’s Hill (Monument)
Often overlooked, the City of London contains dozens of tiny ‘pocket parks’. These green spaces are the former burial grounds of the medieval city’s churches, now converted into picturesque spots in which to chew your sarnies. Others have been crafted from the churches themselves. Christ Church Greyfriars, designed by Christopher Wren, is a striking case in point. Its tower still stands following a careful reassembly, and is now a private residence. The bombed-out nave, however, has been beautifully transfigured into a vibrant rose garden. Nearby, you’ll find Postman’s Park: this small space, 51 by inviolable law, must always be included in books on ‘quirky London’. It is well known for its memorial to humble people who gave their lives saving others. Best of all is St Dunstan-in-the-East. Its Christopher Wren spire looks just like Thunderbird 3 from the old puppet show. It presides over another shattered nave that now contains a bubbling fountain, creeping ivy and plenty of benches. There is no spot more tranquil in the whole of London.
Greenwich Park and beyond
(Cutty Sark DLR)
Once seen, never forgotten. The steep slope up to the Royal Observatory affords supreme views of the curving Thames and the multiplying skyscrapers of Canary Wharf. To the east of the park, you’ll find many elevated but quiet corners where tourists fear to tread – the perfect place to picnic in the summer. The park also contains Roman remains and a little-known deer sanctuary to the south. Head beyond the walls here, and you’ll find yourself on the plain of Blackheath, whose preternatural aura is partly ruined by the heavy lines of traffic passing through. It’s a bit of a trek, but if you’re feeling adventurous, head up Shooter’s Hill to find the bizarre Severndroog Castle, whose recently reopened roof provides sweeping views of the south-east. The surrounding Oxleas Wood is also very lovely, and very ancient, with an unbroken lineage of trees stretching back to the end of the last Ice Age.
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Regent Square
(King’s Cross St Pancras)
Don’t confuse Regent Square garden with Regent’s Park. It’s about 10,000 times smaller. It includes, however, several oddities I suspect few people are aware of. Look up in the trees to see an aviary of plastic birds. Meanwhile, the lawn contains an utterly pointless bollard, placed there as part of some situationist art project. Note also the ancient ‘ghost sign’, still advertising medicines to ‘cure all wounds and sores’ on the south side of the square.
(Crystal Palace)
Further south is the mighty Crystal Palace Park. This historic open space is famed for its collection of dinosaur models (I don’t think anyone’s ever realised it, but only a few of them are actually dinosaurs … most represent extinct mammals or fish… but they’re always referred to as dinosaurs). The most striking feature is an absence. The great Crystal Palace burned down in 1936, but its footprint can still be found to the south of the park.
Wimbledon Common
(Wimbledon)
The Common, Wimbledon Park and neighbouring Putney Heath would take a lifetime to explore adequately: 1,137 acres (460ha) of woodlands, scrub, fields and lakes cover an area similar to a medium-sized town. It’s impossible to wander round without whistling the theme tune to the classic ‘70s TV show, The Wombles, but I’d instead direct you to Michael de Larrabeiti’s deliciously anarchic novel The Borrible Trilogy, which sees a tribe of mischievous child-things hiking to the Common in order to murder a warren of thinly disguised Wombles. Features of interest include the famous windmill, a Grade II*-listed structure with a small museum. Towards the common’s midriff is a quaint hamlet containing a handful of houses and a top-notch gastropub, the Fox and Grapes. Nearby Cannizaro Park provides yet more outdoor space to explore. This is certainly a good part of town in which to own a dog, or a pair of running shoes.
(Elephant and Castle)
Perhaps less well known, at least to non-locals, is Burgess Park, just south of Old Kent Road. The park was built after the Second World War, reclaiming a heavily blitzed area of housing. This recently re-landscaped green space contains an impressive artificial lake, which was supposedly lined with the world’s largest sheet of waterproof plastic when it was originally created. The southern end of the park includes a walkway that follows the route of the long-filled-in Surrey Canal. Redundant bridges still arch over the path, and other pieces of canal infrastructure are everywhere. Much of the canal’s route has been transformed into a linear park, which stretches all the way down to Peckham.
Victoria Park
(Cambridge Heath or Hackney Wick)
Two great parks can be found to the east. Victoria Park is the oldest, boasting plenty of open space, a recently restored Japanese garden and particularly beautiful stretch of canal where I swear I’ve seen terrapins paddling about. Look out for the two stone niches with seating inside at the eastern end. These are remnants of Old London Bridge, moved to the park in the 1860s.
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Stave Hill
(Canada Water)
Stave Hill in Rotherhithe is woefully under-appreciated. This artificial mound was created from the rubble of nearby dock buildings, demolished following the decline of the city’s river trade. Hidden away in dense woodland, it’s a surprise to reach the summit and behold the views of Canary Wharf.
(Hackney Wick or Stratford)
Further east is London’s newest major green space: the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It’s the only park to be opened twice: once for the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012, and then again a year later, following re-landscaping. As a recent creation, it lacks mature trees and can feel a little windswept. In summer, though, a meander beside the network of rivers and wildflower meadows is very relaxing. I hear that otters have been spotted here, too.
Richmond Park
(Richmond and North Sheen)
Not to be outdone, West London contains the magnificent Richmond Park. In places, this can feel a little wild and windswept, especially when you catch sight of the roaming deer. Head to the western end and you’ll find a very different scene, and one that might seem familiar: the view along the Thames to Windsor is among the most-painted scenes in Britain. While you’re over there, ascend King Henry’s Mound to see a view of a different calibre. A narrow tunnel has been cut through the foliage, allowing an uninterrupted and protected sightline to St Paul’s Cathedral, some 10 miles (16km) away.
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Central Park
(East Ham)
Did you know London has its own Central Park? It’s situated off the High Street in East Ham. The park contains some unusual sculptures of what appear to be lottery balls embedded in rock. These sit next to a couple of Victorian iron columns whose provenance is unknown (at least to me, to Google and the local tour guide I asked).
Acton Park
(Acton Central)
Look high in the branches of Acton Park: one of the London plane trees contains a model of a python. I have no idea why. Perhaps it’s a visual pun on the movie Snakes on a Plane (tree).
Bushy Park
(Hampton Wick)
Across the water, the vast Bushy Park is less well known, but a joy to explore. It must be London’s wildest park, and the Royal Park with the fewest visitors. You can find yourself in pockets of silent isolation, punctuated only by the shrill cry of the ring-necked parakeet, a species that now completely dominates the area. Keep an eye out too for the free-roaming deer that tend to loiter to the north-east.
The Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill
(Regent’s Park or Chalk Farm)
The final Royal Park in our roll call is The Regent’s Park. Perhaps the most varied of London’s green lungs, this large open space is known for its elegant flower gardens, football pitches, boating lake and, of course, ZSL London Zoo. A pleasant hour can be spent walking north through the park and on towards Primrose Hill, from where you’ll get one of the best views of the capital.
Hampstead Heath
(Hampstead)
A couple of miles north is the magnificent Hampstead Heath, a mix of woodlands, open spaces and Kenwood House – a swish art gallery set in a stately home. One of the Heath’s greatest assets, and not as well known, is the pergola complex over to the west. This Italian-style, raised promenade wends its way through the trees, before arriving at a viewing point looking towards Harrow. It is the most romantic walk in London, especially with the wisteria in bloom, and it is usually quite deserted.
Antrim Gardens
(Belsize Park)
This tiny garden, backing on to an allotment, is not much of a space, but it does contain two curious relics: a balustrade from the old Waterloo Bridge, and a fragment from the blitzed House of Commons. Many locals don’t know these antiques are here.
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If the great outdoors is too wet, or too cold, consider one of University College London’s free lunchtime lectures. They take place at 1.15pm most Tuesdays and Wednesdays during term time, on pretty much any subject under the sun (and over it … space science is not excluded). There’s no fee, and you can simply turn up and walk in.