The Green Lungs of London: Exploring the City’s Parks
Throughout the city of London there are many beautiful green spaces where you can escape from the hustle and bustle and enjoy a quieter pace of life.
London is the biggest city in the UK, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by many accounts. This massive global city has a population of 7,556,900 people who move through its streets at a dizzying pace. However, there are still many green spaces within the city where you could spend an entire afternoon feeding squirrels, reading a book in the shade, and watching the Queen’s Swans gliding across a pond.
The many parks of London act like “green lungs” for the city, their trees and other vegetation counteracting the smog of the urban core. These areas provide cool and leafy shade in the summer, fresh air, and a tranquil place for Londoners and visitors alike to relax. There are approximately 400 green spaces in the City of London alone, and if you expand that radius to Greater London the number reaches over a thousand.
Types of Parks in London
There are four main types of parks in London. The first are Royal Parks, of which there are 8 in Greater London: Hyde Park, St. James’s Park, Regents Park, Kensington Gardens, Greenwich, Green Park, Richmond and Bushy Park. This royal land was acquired from the Church, after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1540s.
The second type of park is the Public Park, such as Hackney, Battersea and Southwark Parks. Another type of park is “Commonland”, which is generally open access and wild and remote, as opposed to the gated and manicured parks. The final style of park is the “Pleasure Garden” which was popular after the Restoration in 1660. These were historically used for medicinal purposes, and were often built near natural springs. All four of these styles of green space can be found within Greater London.
Recommended Parks
If you are looking for a lovely green city oasis where you can go for a quiet stroll or enjoy a picnic beneath a tree, here are some beautiful parks within the city of London that you will enjoy:
· Victoria Park – This Park is excellent for cycling around as it is very big and quite peaceful. It also hosts music festivals in the summer.
· London Fields – Located in East London, this park has a market on Saturdays and homemade ice cream for sale.
· Regents Park – Listen closely as you are lounging on the grass here, you might just hear the sounds of the animals in the nearby London Zoo!
· Gladstone Park – This retreat in North London has superb sports facilities and lovely flower gardens.
· Bushy Park – Keep your eyes peeled for free-roaming deer while wandering through the chestnut and lime trees of this quiet park.
· Hyde Park – This massive park is home to the funky Serpentine Gallery and the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.
Enjoy the fresh air and laid back atmosphere of London’s many beautiful parks!
Getting There
Because of London’s status as a huge global city, it is the best served destination in the world when it comes to international flights. There are five airports that serve the city flights to London can easily be booked from all around the globe.
