London Parks and Gardens

Chelsea Physic Garden 66 Royal Hospital Road Chelsea SW3 4HS This botanic garden was founded in 1673 to investigate the medicinal role of plants. It played a major role in the development of the sciences of botany and horticulture. There is a garden shop selling plants.

Green Park Northern neighbor to Buckingham Palace, Charles II used to stroll here. Indeed, Constitution Hill, on the northern border of the park, commemorates Charles' excursions. The park is better known as the meeting ground for duelists, and many a corpse must have lain on the now peaceful grass. Hampstead Heath The largest open space in Greater London, the heath was once home to highwaymen, but now it is a multi-purpose green space with the best panoramic views of the city. Historic Kenwood House is on the northern border of the heath.

Hyde Park Once a hunting ground for Henry VIII, Hyde Park's character stems from the Serpentine Lake, home to waterfowl and sweating oarsmen. Rotten Row, on the southern boundary of the park, is a famous horse-riding area, and Speaker's Corner, by the Marble Arch entrance, is the the place to listen to soap-box orators. on Sunday mornings. Kensington Gardens The border between Hyde Park and Kensington Park is vague, but the characters of the parks are quite diffferent. Kensington Gardens was once part of Hyde Park, until William IV enclosed it to become the gardens for Kensington Palace to the west. The Gardens are more orderly and formal than Hyde Park, with a sunken garden and a rectangular pond by the palace. By Long Water is a statue of Peter Pan, whose author, JM Barrie, donated the children's swings nearby.

Primrose Hill 62 acres on a high hill affording excellent panoramic views of central London. Primrose Hill was once part of the same royal forest as Regent's Park Regents Park Once the royal hunting ground of Marylebone Park, Regent's Park was part of a vast redevelopment plan by the Prince Regent, later George IV. The Inner Circle now contains Queen Mary's Garden, fed by the underground Tyburn River. There is space for sailing, tennis, archery, and boating on the Regent's Park Canal.

St James Park An oasis of calm in the bustle of the West End, St. James Park is bounded by The Mall and Birdcage Walk, while its westernmost end lies practically on the doorstep of Buckingham Palace. The area was a deer park under Henry VIII, a formal garden under Charles II, and was remodeled into its present relaxed air by John Nash in 1827. The central lake is home to large populations of ducks and pelicans.

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