Hyde Park, London

Hyde Park (and neighbouring Kensington Gardens) is well worth a visit. There is Speakers Corner, the Serpentine, memorial to Princess Diana and loads of places to walk, sit and relax or cycle and rollerblade etc Last time I was there the weather was beautiful and the park was absolutely swarming with people out for a weekends sunbathing and relaxation or jogging and cycling around the park.
On Sundays there is chaos at Speakers Corner where anyone can get up on their soap box and rant about anything and everything under the sun to the delight of the people who go to heckle them! Its a bit mad. Its only meant to be allowed on a Sunday and you have to stand on something that is about 10' (well something like that!) off the ground so that you are not standing on British soil.
The rest of the park is lovely with a mix of wide open spaces, woodland, memorials, ponds and gardens.
See my other tips for more detail.

The Serpentine is a large artificial lake in the centre of Hyde Park which offers canoeing and boating. There is a cordoned off area for swimming in the summer, called the Lido.
The Serpentine meets the "Long Water" at Serpentine Bridge and this also acts as part of the boundary between Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

One of the most visited parks in London it must be Hyde Park with so many attractions and over three hundred and fifty acres of landscape to explore. It was first opened to the public in 1637 by Charles I but prior to that it was used by the royals and the High Society for hunting deer.
At the park is something for everybody from walking, having a picnic.cycling at the designated areas of the park and even boating on the Serpentine the lake in Hyde Park.
Serpentine lake is used for boating and rowing which you can hire boats from the boat house which is on the side of the lake. Also now which i din't know before until I'm was researching for this tip they have a solarshuttle which is powered by the sun and fits forty people.
Also the lake which has the Serpentine Lido attached to it which it can be used by adults and children is used daily by the oldest swimming club in Britain from 6.00am to 9.30pm including Christmas Day which is their race day.

Lido opening hours:June until 12th of September every day from 10.00am to 6.00pm and on weekends only during May including May Bank Holidays.
Boating and rowing opening times: April to October from 10.00 am until 4.00pm or sundown if is earlier and 8.00pm in the summer.
The price for the solarshuttle is £12.00 adult for one hour and £5.00 for a child up to 15 years old. A family of 2 adults and 2 children is £29.00. There's an option you can do less time but is only a couple of pounds cheaper.

This cemetery is VERY RARELY open to the public without charge, but if you look carefully through the railings that separate it from Bayswater, you will see a swarm of miniature gravestones. These mark the final resting places of some London's pets. The overcrowded cemetery was started in 1881.

There are visits costing over £50 plus tax for groups of up to 6 people (see royalparks.org.uk ), but peering through the railings is more challenging, and will cost you nothing.

at the Far End of Hyde Park near the Wellington Arch and Aspley House is the Achilles Drive nd a large Achilles Statue that commemorates the First Duke of Wellington,Arthur Wellesley who had several victories in the Napeolonic Wars against Napoleon Bonaparte. This achilles statue was actually made from captured french cannonballs and was melted and the statue inaqurated in 1822. The statue is 4 meter long and achilles is depicted here as muscular, nude young man, raising his shield with his left hand and his short sword in his right hand, with his armour standing by his right thigh and his cloak draped over his left shoulder.

Hyde Park has a total area of 142 hectares (as compared to 111 hectares of kensington park and 16 hectares of the serpentine) and this park was initially used by King Henry VIII for hunting and then became the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851 (London Expo) and besides being a popular attraction is also a major site for demonstrations of whatever kind. Among the Attractions here include Marbel Arch (will have a separate tip for it), Speaker's Corner, Achilles Statue, Joy of Life Fountain, Diana Memorial Fountain, Holocaust Memorial, Cavalry Memorial, Animals in War Memorial, Norwegian Memorial and a lot more.

Opens: 24/7

A Fairly New Addtition to the Various Sculpture and Murals along Park Land (which is still technically part of Hyde Park) is the infamous Dunamis Bronze Sculpture of a Carnival Man carrying an Elephant via it's trunk with only one hand. (see the picture). This sculpture was made by Local Lady Sculptor named Bushra Fakhoury and was opened in October 5 in 2013 and now is attracting hordes of curious onlookers. The Sculpture is 9 meters tall.

Hyde Park has a total area of 142 hectares (as compared to 111 hectares of kensington park and 16 hectares of the serpentine) and this park was initially used by King Henry VIII for hunting and then became the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851 (London Expo) and besides being a popular attraction is also a major site for demonstrations of whatever kind. Among the Attractions here include Marbel Arch (will have a separate tip for it), Speaker's Corner, Achilles Statue, Joy of Life Fountain, Diana Memorial Fountain, Holocaust Memorial, Cavalry Memorial, Animals in War Memorial, Norwegian Memorial and a lot more.

Opens: 24/7

One of the Unique Attractions in Hyde Park is is near the Marble Arch is the Stillwater Sculpture. It is a sculpture of a horse head made fron bronze (henze the greenish hue due to oxidation) made by a local sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green and was unveiled in 2011 and is near the Bus Stop for Public Buses along the Marche Arch Area.

Hyde Park has a total area of 142 hectares (as compared to 111 hectares of kensington park and 16 hectares of the serpentine) and this park was initially used by King Henry VIII for hunting and then became the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851 (London Expo) and besides being a popular attraction is also a major site for demonstrations of whatever kind. Among the Attractions here include Marbel Arch (will have a separate tip for it), Speaker's Corner, Achilles Statue, Joy of Life Fountain, Diana Memorial Fountain, Holocaust Memorial, Cavalry Memorial, Animals in War Memorial, Norwegian Memorial and a lot more.

Opens: 24/7

Like What I've Said, The Hyde Park and Kensington Parks are virtually contigious areas in Central London and is only separated by the Serpentine River and Bridge of which roughly the Upper Half is the Hyde Park. Both these parks are the so called lungs of london, comparable to central park in Manhattan in New York City. Hyde Park has a total area of 142 hectares (as compared to 111 hectares of kensington park and 16 hectares of the serpentine) and this park was initially used by King Henry VIII for hunting and then became the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851 (London Expo) and besides being a popular attraction is also a major site for demonstrations of whatever kind. Among the Attractions here include Marbel Arch (will have a separate tip for it), Speaker's Corner, Achilles Statue, Joy of Life Fountain, Diana Memorial Fountain, Holocaust Memorial, Cavalry Memorial, Animals in War Memorial, Norwegian Memorial and a lot more.

Opens: 24/7

Hyde Park is one of eight roal parks in the city of London.

In the park the following attractions are located:
-Speakers'€™ Corner
-Serpentine Lake
-The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain

The Serpentine is a lake in Hyde Park created n 1730 at the behest of Queen Caroline.
The adjacent part West of the bridge and located in Kensington Park is called the Long Water.

Queen Caroline, wife of George II, ordered the damming of the River Westbourne in Hyde Park as part of a general redevelopment of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The redevelopment was carried out by Royal Gardener Charles Bridgeman.

Since 1864, the Serpentine has hosted a 100-yard swimming competition every Christmas morning at 9AM, later known as the Peter Pan Cup.

The lake is excellent to row on.

You can cross the lake on a solar shuttle boat.

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain was opened on 6 July 2004 by Queen Elizabeth,
The fountain commemorates Princess Diana who died in a Paris car crash in1997.

The fountain was designed by Kathryn Gustafson and shows Diana's spirit and love of children.

The fountain also is a part of the 7 miles long Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, a circular trail through London.

You will find this bang in the middle of Hyde Park which is the headquarters of the Royal Parks. It looks like an old country house but it was actually built around 1900. There are even cells inside but they are no longer used, but it serves as an actual police station now and i believe that the police stables are there for the officers to patrol the park. The parks Police can trace it origins from the 1872 when the Royal Park Keepers kept control. Samuel Parkes, an inspector won the Victoria Cross in the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854.

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 someone walking to move his chair. Nothing special, you say. But that was the first time I deeply appreciated the Portuguese sun.

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 visits to Hyde Park:

October 2011
My friend and I went from Marble Arch via Hyde Park to The Royal Albert Hall for Phantom 25. The park is always busy especially on a nice day.

August 2014
I returned to Hyde Park, entering and existing from Hyde Park Corner entrance across from Grand Triumphal Arch, and walked through the park towards Kensington Gardens where I visited the Serpentine Galleries. I had more time to look round and relax at the park.

A lovely night out for the entire family. Dress warm as this is usually just before Christmas. There is lots of food stalls and many rides to entertain young and old. Weekends can be busy, but week nights are a bit quieter. Take enough money to buy your Christmas gifts from one of the various stalls stacked with unique gifts.