Hyde Park, London
Looking west across Hyde Park’s Serpentine Lake…
London’s beautifully landscaped Hyde Park, featuring over 360 acres of meadows, wooded grounds, and lake area, is the largest of City’s eight Royal Parks. Taken together, Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, The Green Park, and St. James’s Park form a continuous green corridor of carefully tended grounds and gardens stretching from Kensington Palace, past the grounds of Buckingham Palace, through to the Horse Guard Parade at the eastern edge of St. James Park.
My stroll through Hyde Park came at the close of my hop-on-hop-off bus tour, when I exited the tour bus near to Hyde Park’s Grand Gates. Before going in to the park, I walked over to see the Wellington Arch and its handsome Quadriga, and circled the equestrian statue of the First Duke of Wellington at Hyde Park Corner. Afterwards, I entered Hyde Park through the gates and toured the grounds, making my way along the lovely pathways towards the west end of the park.
It was late afternoon on a lovely day in mid-April when I visited, and it was easy to see that the park was a much-loved destination for a great many folks. People were curled up with books under trees, some were strolling along the pathways, rollerblading, or making their way across Serpentine Lake in row boats and paddleboats, others were cycling, some folks were gathered and resting at the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain., or stopping for coffee and conversation at one of the restaurants along the lakeside. It was a real pleasure to visit the park on a typical day like this, seeing people spending time in their usual manner. The ordinary rhythms of life made me feel at home as I explored Hyde Park.
From about 900 AD through to the 1500s, Hyde Park had belonged to the Monks of Westminster Abbey. In 1536, the lands were taken over by Henry VIII and reserved as Royal hunting grounds. At that time, the forests and meadows would have been well populated with deer, wild boar, and other wild life.
Today, Hyde Park still offers refuge for smaller creatures, birds, and insects and is a popular place for naturalists wishing to see the flora and fauna that are native to the region. For London city dwellers, it’s the perfect location to enjoy a huge variety of outdoor activities. The Park, which was home to London’s Great Exhibition in 1851, today features a steady parade of modern events for park visitors to enjoy. Tennis, swimming, horseback riding, boating, cycling, and walking are at the top of the list for summer activities, along with rock concerts, exhibitions, and special events like the popular Barclaycard Presents series.
During my springtime walk through Hyde Park, I appreciated seeing the park’s collection of flowering trees in full bloom, and I especially enjoyed bird watching along the shoreline of Serpentine Lake.
Photography and Text: NK
Photo Location: Hyde Park, London, England
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