I love the parks in London. I cannot wait to explore more of them, hopefully as soon as next year. Last May I managed a quick evening walk at the Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. These two parks combined are so huge that you would need a full day to explore.
Kensington Gardens is one of the nine Royal Parks in London. It covers 111 hectares of land. Even though I visited twice, there’s still a lot left to explore for next time. This picture below is from the Italian Gardens. I accessed this part of the park from the North Entrance near the Lancaster Gate tube station.
The legend says that Prince Albert – who was a keen gardener – introduced this Italian garden as a gift to his beloved Queen Victoria. The garden is the head to the Long Water – the river that flows through the Kensington Gardens to Hyde Park becoming The Serpentine on the way.
It seemed that many people were out for a stroll, enjoying the last rays of sun.
I soon came upon people feeding birds. I’d never seen these Ring-Necked Parakeets before but from the looks of things, it seems feeding these birds is something of a norm.
The parks in London have a huge array of birds for bird enthusiasts to spot.
As I wandered further on, I noticed this placate on the ground. There is an 11 km walk in London which passes through Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park and St. James’ Park celebrating the life of Princess Diana. I would like to do this walk one day!
Finding myself in Hyde Park – I noticed the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. The fountain was designed by an American landscape artist – Kathryn Gustafson. Hyde Park covers 142 hectares of land and it too is one of the Royal Parks.
I was shocked to see people wading in the water. I thought it was quite disrespectful. The water must’ve also been freezing, as it was early May.
Since my visit, I have learned that as Princess Diana was seen as an accessible princess, the structure was actually designed for quiet wading and contemplation. Unfortunately some people slipped and fell, so now the public is actually asked not to walk on the memorial but they may sit on the edge and refresh their feet in the water.
You can find Lido Café and Bar nearby the fountain with views of the Serpentine river. As I was meeting friends for dinner, I had no time to linger and had to make my way back to the North Entrance.
To see a great array of statues this park features, navigate to my post here.
My evening stroll:
I also love Holland Park in London, which I wrote about here. What is your favourite park in London?
xx
The Life and Travels of Mrs Suvi 
Aah, London. I just love Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens ❤
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London is so amazing, my favourite time to visit is Spring 🙂
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love hyde parks so much, i think this is a super blog -the parks are not to be missed
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Yes, London parks are so cool!
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How wonderful to see Hyde & Kensington Parks in May! They are also my favourite & most visited parks in London!
We usually travel to London during the winter for the Christmas holidays, so the scenery looks very different; we haven’t been there in the Spring for a long time, so it is really nice to see so much greenery!
I love looking back at holiday pics too! Part of the joy of travel – the memories made, the photos taken.
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London is great any time of year! I don’t even mind the rain there 😅 Lovely to go to London for Christmas holidays, all those lights and the Winter Wonderland too 😍
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We are really looking forward to it …. less than 2 weeks before we leave!
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Reblogged this on John Cowgill's Literature Site and commented:
By the adventurous Suvi.
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It has been many years since I had visited London. I visited Kensington Gardens, but never saw thing memorial. Looks nice. I hope that you were able to put your feet in the water. Thank you for sharing.
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Ooh it was way too cold for me to put my feet in the water! It would be nice to try in summer though 😊
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It’ been a long time since I have been there. Thanks for bringing back memories.
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I know what you mean, even though my visit was only 6 months ago, it was so nice to look at these photos. And dream of a new visit of course 👍
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I also love each of the London parks but St. James park us probably my favourite for its superb views.
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Ooh St James sounds lovely, I need to do that next time! Thanks for the tip 😍
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Love strolling in the London parks – never seen people feeding the birds like that though!!
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Really? Maybe it’s a thing for Kensington Gardens. I’m surprised it’s allowed actually!
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The Diana Memorial fountain is packed out in summer with kids paddling – my daughter loves to go there!
If you get chance to go in June it’s worth having a look at http://www.opensquares.org/ – you can get access to a lot of private parks and gardens.
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Wow that’s for the tip John, that two day park “festival” looks really interesting 😊 How cool to take a peek at a private garden, I want to do that!
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Wow! Would love to add this to things to do when I see London 😍
https://alesiasaffordableadventures.wordpress.com/
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I definitely recommend the parks. It’s so nice to take a breather from the hustle and bustle of London now and again 😊
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