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LONDON
– A CITY
OF BEAUTIFUL
GARDENS
London – the city of famous historical monuments, museums, galleries, revolutionary architecture, culture, and beautiful gardens, is a capital of England. On a visit to England, one cannot afford to miss the beautifully landscaped gardens of London. One can find gardens almost everywhere – on roofs, in basements, gardens sheltered by tropical plants, English cottage gardens, modern sculpture gardens, gardens created by artists, collectors' gardens, and many more in the city of London. Here are some 14 most popular parks and gardens in the London city: HYDE PARK Hyde Park is one of London’s largest parks and it covers 140 hectares or 350 acres. It is the most famous park in the city of London. Hyde Park is situated within easy reach of some of the London districts, such as Bayswater, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Mayfair and Queensway. It is also quite close to shopping centers and department stores. The park offers a variety of attractions. This includes a boating lake, fishing, jogging trails, Kensington Gardens and a well-known statue of Peter Pan. Earlier, Hyde Park was opened to the public for the purpose of hunting. Today it offers a range of outdoor activities for both the tourist and locals. There is also a Speakers Corner, which was opened in 1872, for speakers to make announcements for a large audience. Also, there is a Marble Arch that stands in the North Eastern corner of the park. Hyde Park provides facilities for a range of leisure activities and sports right from informal games of Frisbee to boating on the Serpentine and horse riding. The park is also used for organizing both large and small public events. GREEN PARK Green Park is one of the most popular and the smallest of all parks in London. It is located quite close to Piccadilly Circus. It also contains the most famous Buckingham Palace of the early 18th century. The Green Park covers 40 acres. It also has a stream running just beneath its facade, which keeps the grass evergreen forever. The park also covers 16 hectares and with St James’ Park and Hyde Park, it forms a string of open spaces, inviting to a range of leisure activities to take place. However, it is more serene with adult trees and pampas. It is encircled with Constitution Hill, Piccadilly Circus and the Broad Walk. It was first recorded in 1554 as the place where a revolution took place in opposition to the marriage of Mary I to Philip II of Spain. The Green Park is also admired for sunbathing and picnics in fine weather. Joggers and runners use the paths extensively. The park is open throughout the week all the year round. ST. JAMES’ PARK St. James’ Park is also known by the name of the Queen’s front garden. It is the oldest Royal Park in London and is surrounded by three palaces. The most ancient is Westminster, which is now known as the Houses of Parliament, St James's Palace and Buckingham Palace. It is situated adjacent to Green Park in London. It contains St. James’ Palace, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Kent. The Park is also famous for its weekend band shows twice a day, especially during the summer. It also contains a famous lake with a variety of waterfowl. The park is spellbound with huge trees and lovely flowers. The park is open from 5 AM to 12 in the midnight all year round. REGENT’S PARK The Regent’s Park is located on the northwest of London. This park was created in 1812 for the Prince Regent, and the original plan was to create a private development with exclusive houses, but the full scheme was never completed. It is a spectacular park with beautifully landscaped park designed by John Nash and established planting schemes. The Park has a lot other attractions to look for. These include a large lake for boating, sunken gardens, sports fields, rock gardens, olden trees, and playground areas for children, rose gardens, and a zoo. During the summer, the park looks marvelous with full of lights with band shows, and an open-air theatre, where a variety of plays take place. The Regent’s Park is best to visit from May to September. ALEXANDRA PARK Alexandra Park offers a range of activities for the purpose of leisure, including an ice-skating rink, seating areas, benches, mature trees and the Alexandra Palace complex. HAMPSTEAD HEATH Hampstead Heath is located between Regent's Park and Alexandra Park. This Park is famous for many of London's events and festivals which take place over there throughout the year. It also has many pools, olden trees, colorful flower borders and walking trails for a stroll in the sun, so it is worth a visit for having a glance at all these. It also has a 17th century stately home, known as Kenwood House, which has a fine art collection of English and Dutch masters, and also The Hill, which is a formal garden to the east. During summers, free entertainment programmes, such as concerts, talk shows and walks are held in the Park. The Park covers around 800 acres. On the south of the park is what we call The Parliament Hill. One can experience a tour of the whole of London, by just sanding on the top of the Parliament Hill. It is a great entertainer for children to play kite flyers, and freshen up in a nearby bathing pond. The pond is only open during the summer. The Park is also popular for many cultural events like fun fair, which is held three times a year over Easter, spring and late summer Bank holidays. Hampstead Heath British Rail station is the nearest for the fair. Quite nearer to the Park, there is Hampstead High Street, an interesting and expensive shopping center for fashionable attire to shop for. RICHMOND PARK Richmond Park is one of the largest parks in London. In the Park, one can meet with large herds of friendly and fallow wild deer, large amounts of native London flora and fauna, nature trails, picnic spots and scenic beauty of the countryside. This Park was also a hunting ground for old rulers, built by Charles I and covers almost two and a half thousand acres, being the largest park in London. Inside the park itself, there are roads running through it and drivers have to take great care to avoid animals. Even pedestrians are warned not to come too nearer to the deer. The park also has the Isabella Plantation, which is famous for its rhododendrons and has a lovely small rock stream, Pen Ponds, and there is a bounty of hills in the outskirts of the Park. There is a small refreshment shop, Pembroke Lodge, on the right, and it also offers a great view. There are also other houses inside the park but they are not meant for public visits. These are White Lodge, used as a ballet school, and Thatched House Lodge, where Princess Alexandra lives. BUSHY PARK Bushy Park covers an area of 450 hectares or 1,099 acres, and is situated to the north of Hampton Court Palace. The park also has the famous Arethusa ‘Diana’ Fountain and the renowned Chestnut Avenue. GREENWICH PARK Greenwich Park was built in the year 1433. It was also used for the purpose of hunting by the King Henry VIII (who was born there) at that time. Greenwich Park covers an area of 73 hectares or 183 acres and is situated on a hilltop with impressive views across the River Thames to Docklands and the City of London, between Blackheath and the River Thames. The Park includes a number of historic buildings, namely the Old Royal Observatory, the Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum, and the Queen's House. Greenwich Palace is now replaced with Greenwich University, designed by Christopher Wren, architect of the new London. In the summer season, lots of events are held inside the Park, including band shows, donkey rides, and many more. It also has a deer park with red and fallow deer in it. The park also organizes concerts on Sunday afternoons and Shakespeare performances, especially in the month of August. KENSINGTON GARDENS This covers an area of 111 hectares or 275 acres. Actually, it was a part of Hyde Park, but now both of them are separately recognized. It contains a Palace known as Kensington Palace, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, in the front of which there is a monument in the name of Queen Victoria. The monument carries a statue of Queen Victoria at the front, carved by her daughter, Princess Louise, to celebrate 50 years of her mother’s supremacy. Later she moved to Buckingham Palace in 1837. Sometime back, the palace was the home of Princess Margaret, Queen Victoria’s sister, and Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales. The Garden is quite famous for the bronze statue of Peter Pan on a plinth covered with rabbits, squirrels, and mice. It also includes The Albert Memorial and the Serpentine Gallery, which one cannot afford to miss! The Park also contains an attractive Boating Pond where locals try out there model boats. One can also find the rare species of Green Woodpeckers here in the whole of Central London. It also offers many sports activities like sailing model boats on Round Pond, skating, cycling and kite flying. The park is open from 6am to dusk throughout the year. BELGRAVIA GARDENS Belgravia Square is the most restricted garden in the city of London, since embassies and diplomatic residences surround it. It covers an area of 4.5-acre square. It is an oval-shaped garden, with a gravel path around its edges. It contains tennis courts, a playground, a summerhouse, and rose-covered exhibition area. The garden is also embossed with large plane trees, wisteria and passionflowers. BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION GARDENS The British Medical Association (BMA) House is located in North London. It has a courtyard garden and its buildings are made of red bricks. The building of the garden includes stones, which were hit by bombs in the Second World War. This garden is also quite restrictive for general public. The Council Garden includes an enthralling collection of physic plants, for the development of medical knowledge. Each of the plants is labeled with information on their origins and medicinal properties. MECKLENBURGH SQUARE Mecklenburgh Square is spread on an area of two-acre. It has been registered Grade II by English Heritage. The square has older planes, ornamental trees, formal lawns and gravel paths. The borders of the square contain plants from New Zealand. The London University postgraduate students and their families living around the square use a barbecue area, tennis courts and children’s play area. BLOOMSBURY SQUARE Bloomsbury Square is the second oldest square in London, after Covent Garden. The garden has circle of lime trees at the center, shaded walks, and deciduous trees. The square in situated in Central London, and is open at the far end to the big red buses passing by. Tall old buildings surround the square.
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