London Parks- London, England

You can learn a lot about a city by exploring its parks and gardens. A quality city properly funds and maintains these green islands, which act as a refuge for visitors and residents alike. As much as I love a bustling downtown, a park gate is an invitation to leave the chaos behind, and enter into an urban oasis. A place of fountains, flowers, and statues; winding paths dotted with memorials to founding fathers, long dead artists and explorers. London has an astonishing array of parks; in fact, 47 percent of the city is green space. Hopefully there isn’t anything else you wanted to see while in town.

Of course there are other things you want to see; however, London is wonderfully walkable, so wherever you are headed, there is probably a park as well. St. James’s Park in central London is on your way to just about everything, and boasts wonderful views to boot. It also appears to have an extra s, but we’ll chalk that up to English grammar.

After checking out Buckingham Palace, escape from the gate crowds at Hyde Park. One of the largest parks in the city, it has been open to the public since 1637. It is home to Speaker’s Corner, which has been a point of free speech and debate since 1872, as well as the touching Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. The park is often the location of large festivals, and hosted both Pope Benedict XVI and Pink Floyd. It was also the location of the first World’s Fair, which was held in the park from May to October 1851, and attended by the likes of Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte and Lewis Carroll. It was held in an elaborate cast iron and plate glass building called the Crystal Palace, which outlived the fair by being relocated to Sydenham Hill, only to be destroyed by fire in 1936.

Walking toward Kensington Palace will bring you to the Albert Memorial, a wonderfully extravagant Gothic  structure, commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her husband, who died of typhoid fever in 1861. Construction took over 10 years, and cost over 120,000 pounds, the equivalent of about 13 million dollars today. The elaborate memorial depicts a gilded seated Albert under an ornate canopy, above several allegorical sculptures.

A short walk from Hyde Park, through the Marylebone area, brings you to Regent’s Park. One of London’s most stunning parks, it is home to Queen Mary’s Rose Garden. Opened to the public in 1932, the garden contains over 12,000 roses of 85 varieties.

Additionally, the park boasts a Delphinium boarder that holds National Collection status, as well as a Begonia Garden with over 9000 of the flowering plants.

The park is also peppered with several beautiful memorials, including the Triton Fountain. Dating to 1950, the fountain consists of a group of bronze sculptures depicting Triton blowing on a conch shell while two mermaids frolic at his feet. It was donated in memory of Sigismund Goetze, a successful early 20th century artist who lived on the perimeter of the park. It is absolutely one of the most stunning fountains in the city.

Heading back over to central London, make sure to stroll through the Victoria Embankment Gardens. Located on the north side of the River Thames, the gardens were created in 1874 from reclaimed land. The linear park is filled with gravel paths, mature trees, and more memorials than you can count, including one to Robert Burns.

The landscaping in places looks downright lush and tropical, which I suppose shouldn’t be shocking considering the amount of rain they get; I ruined more than one pair of shoes in an unexpected deluge. Speaking of water, another fun feature of the park is the York Water Gate; dating to 1626, it originally acted as an entrance to the river, however a changing waterline has left it high and dry at present. The park is also bordered by some grand architecture along the Strand, including the famous Savoy hotel, the first luxury hotel in Britain.

Rain or shine, and you’ll probably get both, London’s parks are destinations unto themselves. They are truly part of what makes it such a fabulous city. While it would be difficult to see them all, you are bound to find a handful close to other city landmarks on your itinerary; just be sure to take the time, to you know, smell the roses.

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