The Royal Parks Central London
Former Royal Hunting Grounds Now A Great Resource For Visitors
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| A Jogger In Kensington Gardens |
Royal Parks Official Web Site
Millions of Londoners and tourists visit the Royal Parks for free each year. Centuries ago when kings were absolute rulers and hunting was the main sport these parks were mostly the hunting grounds of people like Henry VIII.
Its hard to believe nowadays that in those days Hyde Park for instance was in the country, outside the dense urban areas of London.
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| Royal Park Overview |
| Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens |
| St James Park & Green Park |
| Regents Park |
Today the three main central parks are open to the public free of charge.
The three main Central London parks are Regent's Park, Hyde Park and St James's Park. For simplicity purposes we have included Primrose Hill, Kensington Gardens and Green Park within the parks in the previous sentence.
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The Royal Parks do a good job. As well as stocking the parks with plants and wildlife there is an endless stream of events and sports you can partake in.
They are all very accessible to the main sights and a great place to have a quiet sandwich during the day as a break from the serious work of sightseeing or shopping.
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| Typical Hyde Park Serpentine Scene |
Because of their royal history you'll also find a lot of history in the parks and some of the pomp and ceremony still carries on today.
In terms of recreation all the three main parks have lakes with Regents Park and Hyde Park having boats for hire.
All are well stocked with birds and visitors don't let them go hungry.
Concerts and theatre happen frequently, especially during the summer months. Hyde Park, the largest park tends to host the big events from major concerts to fun runs, whilst Regents Park has an intimate outdoor theatre.
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| Peter Pan Statue Kensington Gardens |
St James's Park hosts a lot of formal events, including of course the daily Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.
In Kensington Gardens at the western end of Hyde Park is Kensington Palace, the former home of Princess Diana.
A seven-mile commemorative walk crosses St James's Park, Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. From the walk visitors can see three palaces and two mansions which figured in the life of the Princess: Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, St James's Palace, and Spencer House, the one time London house of the Spencer family.
Princess Diana used to live in Kensington Palace at the extreme western end of Hyde Park / Kensington Gardens.
At the north west corner of Kensington Gardens is the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, this is just inside the park gates opposite Queensway Underground.
For more details of each individual park link to their pages from the menu above, left and also link to the official pages to see what events are happening during your visit to London.
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| Original London Tour Bus |
Hop On Hop Off Sightseeing Buses
An alternative to the classic guided coach tours are the HOHO (hop on, hop off) buses.
During your visit to London, one of the recurring sights are the hop on, hop off tour buses.
Especially in the summer months there seems to be one coming along every couple of minutes, each jam packed with visitors.
These buses offer comprehensive coverage covering nearly all the main sights in London.
In addition to the bus tour a river cruise and free walking tours are part of the deal.
Tickets last for 24 hour periods.
Original London Tour Hop On Hop Off Bus More Details
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