Park sights in England
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Hyde Park
At 145 hectares, Hyde Park is central London's largest open space. Henry VIII expropriated it from the Church in 1536, when it became a hunting ground and later a venue for duels, executions and horse racing. The 1851 Great Exhibition was held here, and during WWII the park became an enormous potato field. These days, it serves as an occasional concert venue and a full-time green space for fun and frolics. There's boating on the Serpentine for the energetic, while Speaker's Corner is for oratorical acrobats. These days, it's largely nutters and religious fanatics who address the bemused stragglers at Speaker's Corner, maintaining the tradition begun in 1872 as a response …
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Hampstead Heath
With its 320 hectares of rolling meadows and wild woodlands, Hampstead Heath is a million miles away – well, approximately four – from central London. A walk up Parliament Hill affords one of the most spectacular views of the city, and on summer days it's popular with picnickers. Also bewilderingly popular are the murky brown waters of the single-sex and mixed bathing ponds (basically duck ponds with people splashing about in them), although most folk are content just to sun themselves around London's 'beach'.
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Regent's Park
A former royal hunting ground, Regent's Park was designed by John Nash early in the 19th century, although what was actually laid out is only a fraction of the celebrated architect's grand plan. Nevertheless, it's one of London's most lovely open spaces – at once serene and lively, cosmopolitan and local – with football pitches, tennis courts and a boating lake. Queen Mary's Gardens, towards the south of the park, are particularly pretty, with spectacular roses in summer. Open Air Theatre hosts performances of Shakespeare and other classics here on summer evenings, along with comedy and concerts.
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Richmond Park
London's wildest park spans more than 1000 hectares and is home to all sorts of wildlife, most notably herds of red and fallow deer. It's a terrific place for bird-watching, rambling and cycling.
To get there from Richmond tube station, turn left along George St then left at the fork that leads up Richmond Hill.
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Kensington Gardens
Blending in with Hyde Park, these royal gardens are part of Kensington Palace and hence popularly associated with Princess Diana. Diana devotees can visit the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in its northwest corner, a much more restrained royal remembrance than the over-the-top Albert Memorial. The latter is a lavish marble, mosaic and gold affair opposite the Royal Albert Hall, built to honour Queen Victoria's husband, Albert (1819–61).
The gardens also house the Serpentine Gallery, one of London's edgiest contemporary art spaces. The Sunken Garden, near the palace, is at its prettiest in summer, while tea in the Orangery is a treat any time of the year.
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Kew Gardens
In 1759 botanists began rummaging around the world for specimens they could plant in the 3-hectare plot known as the Royal Botanic Gardens. They never stopped collecting, and the gardens, which have bloomed to 120 hectares, provide the most comprehensive botanical collection on earth (including the world's largest collection of orchids). It's now recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
You can easily spend a whole day wandering around, but if you're pressed for time, the Kew Explorer is a hop-on/hop-off road train that leaves from Victoria Gate and takes in the gardens' main sights.
Highlights include the enormous Palm House, a hothouse of metal and curved sheets of gla…
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Green Park
Green Park's 47-acre expanse of meadows and mature trees links St James's Park to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, creating a green corridor from Westminster all the way to Kensington. It was once a duelling ground and served as a vegetable garden during WWII. Although it doesn't have lakes, fountains or formal gardens, it's blanketed with daffodils in spring and seminaked bodies whenever the sun shines. The only concessions to formality are the war memorials of various Commonwealth countries: the Canada Memorial near Canada Gate, which links the park to Buckingham Palace; the Memorial Gates at its western end, which recognise the contribution of various African, Caribbe…
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Ashton Court Estate
Two miles from the city centre, this huge estate is Bristol's 'green lung', with 850 sprawling acres of oak woodland, trails and public park. It hosts many of Bristol's keynote events, including the Balloon and Kite festivals, and also contains the Avon Timberland Trail, the UK's only urban mountain bike trail.
Free estate maps are available from the visitor centre.
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Bushy Park
Out in London’s southwestern outskirts, the wonderful Hampton Court Palace is pressed up against 445-hectare Bushy Park, a semiwild expanse with herds of red and fallow deer.
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Cirencester Park
The baroque-landscaped grounds of the Bathurst Estate, with a lovely walk along Broad Ride.
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