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Hyde park is London’s most central large green space. It has an area of around 240 hectares (a perimeter of about 6 km) There are notable landmarks throughout, including The Albert memorial, next to the Royal Albert Hall; the serpentine lake, for boating, sailing and even swimming; and next to speakers corner, can be found Marble Arch. Speakers corner is an area for Briton’s and indeed foreigners to exercise their right to free speech. Partcularly at the weekend, you can find people up on soap boxes spouting forth their beliefs – often religious and often causing heated debate.
The Park was established in the 1500’s by the notorious Henry VII. He built the Royal park for somewhere to enjoy his love of riding. And indeed people enjoy riding through the park still today. There is a riding track through the park (rotten row), and horses can be rented from Hyde Park riding stables from £40 per hour.
Right next to Hyde Park is Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace, both worth a visit. But of course no tourist should miss Buckingham Palace, Her Majesty’s London Home, which is also easily walkable from Hyde Park. The Serpentine Gallery can also be found in Kensington Gardens, with contemporary art exhibitions throughout the summer. It is situated in a converted tea pavilion just south of the serpentine. All of london’s Royal Parks have simple maps on the junctions of all routes through them. Generally speaking rollerblading and skateboarding is not permitted, although there are those who do it anyway. |
