Hyde Park, London

On the west side of Hyde Park you will find Kensington Gardens which has a few points of interest such as Kensington Palace, Diana's Chidren's Playground, various statues and the Round Pond. The Broad Walk can be entered from the Palace Gate in Kensington Road and is a wide avenue which leads you to the black Lion Gate at Bayswater Road.

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There are so many wonderful parks in London, that is one of the good things about London with all its numerous attraction - that you can seek refuge in one of its marvellous parks.

Hyde Park is the largest park in center London and a Royal Park. It is adjacent to Kensington park (see my next tip) it covers a very large area in center London. It has got a big artificial lake - he Serpentine, which divides the park in two - you can rent a boat and even swim in the lake on hot days. There is a good restaurant by lake Serpentine The Serpentine Bar & Kitchen where one can sit and enjoy the wonderful surroundings.

Hyde Park used to be a deer park and a private hunting ground for the King in the olden times but was opened to the public in 1637.

There are several entrances to the park, one of them being the Grand Entrance or Queen Elizabeth Gate (1825).

There is one strange tree in the park, The Upside-down tree, and you can walk inside it, it feels like being in a tent. I have visited the park during all seasons, in winter time the green colour of the Upside-down tree turns into a beautiful copper colour and the leaves don´t fall off. I add photos of the copper colour tree in a travelogue.

There is a memorial fountain in Hyde Park right next to the Serpentine. It is in memory of Princess Di, the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial fountain. It was opened by The Queen in 2004. It is beautiful and so serene. It is open from 10:00-16:00 in September-October, from 10:00 until 16:00 in November-February. In March from 10:00-18:00 and in April-August from 10:00-20:00.

There are so many beautiful statues in the park, including one of a big horse-head.

Don't miss Speaker's Corner on Sundays ;) it can be quite funny listening to the speakers standing on soap-boxes, sometimes entertaining, sometimes plain funny or frustrating. It is located in the North-East part of Hyde Park which is closest to Marble Arch.

Opening hours: 05:00 until midnight, but it gets way too dark in the park to walk through it.

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The 253 hectare Hyde Park is one of the largest Royal Parks in Central London which was originally obtained by Henry VIII in 1536 when it was still a deer park. James 1 allowed access to the gentlefolk but not until 1637 when Charles 1 allowed access to the public. Throughout the next centuries the park was landscaped and the Serpentine was formed by blocking off the Westbourne river/stream. Queen Elizabeth gate was constructed by Aspley House at Hyde Park Corner in 1825. There are many places of interest within the park and all are well signposted along the various paths. Speaker's Corner, Princess Diana Memorial, Holocaust Memorial are some of the things to see, but also there is interesting botany and wildlife to see. Rock concerts are performed here throughout the recent decades as well as horse riding and various sports.

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Watching the children walking in the park, I remembered an impressive image of my first visit to London: In Hide Park, a small aperture in the snows provided a tiny spot of sun in the lawn.

There, more than 30 deck chairs, were occupied by British (I presume), enjoying the sun. As the clouds slowly moved, the chairs hit by the shade were moved to the other bottom, assuring some more minutes of sun.

Thus, the pack was slowly advancing along the park, always in the sun, and always with somenone walking to move his chair. Nothing special, you say. But that was the first time I deeply appreciated the Portuguese sun.

It sure is a "Grand Entrance" to the park!
The Main Entrance is also known as Queen Elizabeth Gate, and its located at Hyde Park Corner next to Apsley House.

Many grey columns, three carriage entrance archways, two foot entrances, the whole entrance stretches for 33 metres. In the centre is a beautiful frieze representing a naval and military triumphal procession. It does have ornamental gates, with the design of Greek honeysuckle.

Hyde Park opens from 5:00 am until midnight all year round.

Pay and Display parking is available on West Carriage Drive and in Car Parks at either end of Serpentine Bridge.

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This is a large park close by to the shops at the Marble Arch end of Oxford Street - seperated by Park Lane from the West End.
There are boats for hire on the Serpentine , bikes for hire, formal gardens , lots of open grass spaces for picnics and games, a number of places to eat and also a long sand track for horses to follow through the park. It is amazing that such a large park can be found in one of the worlds largest cities.

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Hyde Park is one of London largest parks with over 350 hectares. The park is famous for with Grand Triumphal Arch (celebrating the Napoleanic Wars) at Hyde Park Corner and the Speaker's corner near Marble Arch. The Serpentine Lake divides the park into two where the other park is officially Kensington Gardens since Queen Caroline made this division in the early 18th Century. The park is traditionally associated for high profile political demonstrations and 1851 Great Exhibition was held there.

My friend and I went via Hyde Park to The Royal Albert Hall for Phantom 25. The park is always busy especially on a nice day. I would love to return and explore the park more thoroughly on a future trip to London.

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I'm really quite crazy about parks and flowers so Hyde park was my favourite spot amongst those I visited in London. Beautiful roses and gardens, peaceful joggers along the water-edge and just the place to relax

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I've been to London so often, have walked in Hyde Park, but only this time in May 2011 did I see the Rose Garden. What a beautiful spot! Of course, in May the roses are in full bloom, so it was especially nice to walk there, much nicer than in late October or November.
I'm not an expert on roses, but even I noticed the many different kinds or breeds - can one use the term "breed "for plants? .

This garden within Hyde Park is really worth a visit. It's close to the tube station Hyde Park Corner.

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If you'll ask me why I love London -- it is because of their lovely parks!The flowers, the green grass, the lovely colors of leaves in the trees, the smell of air... it blesses my soul. I could stay there all day observing people, reading a book or sitting there simply enjoying the view.