Hyde Park & Ravenscourt Park – The King and the Prince parks …well for me – London is Green!
I have never written about London in my blog before, but as I mentioned before, I want to share much more of my experiences, the great ones to whoever has time to read them.
Weather is getting decent in London and last Easter weekend was proof of that. I can feel how the spirit of people get boosted and everyone seems to have a good vibe and a spark of positivity to share. One of the things I love most about London is the abundance of green spaces, the magnificent parks which make this city so unique. Nothing like a little bit of sun and everyone jumps in madness to the nearest park to get the best of Mr Shiny star. Well, I am not an exception.
Last weekend I had the joy to experience, what I call the King (Hyde Park) and the Prince (my adorable local park Ravenscourt Park). Both places are full of magic, where I have tons of amazing memories. Here the details of my latest moments there:
Hyde Park – The King:
Firstly, I enjoyed a 5-mile walk from home to the Hyde Park Diana Memorial Fountain with my little man last weekend. Talking about Hyde Park is perhaps a redundancy! Everyone knows about it, everyone somehow or another have some reference about it, but nevertheless I want to highlight my experience briefly as a snapshot of the many things to enjoy at this park, which has many other activities to enjoy at leisure.
The park is easily accessing from various entrances, you might enter by Hyde Park tube station and cross it over to end near Lancaster gate tube, as shown in the map above.
Hyde Park is one of the most important parks in central London and the largest of the Royal Parks, it is open from 5:00 am until midnight every day of the year. It covers a vast area of over 140 hectares of land. It was established in 1536 by the well-known King Henry VIII, to satisfy his passion for hunting. In 1637 was opened as a public space for the general public. Since its earliest day, the park has been a witness of history, becoming a place for everyone to pursue other pleasures. A witness of free speeches, events, debates, shows, concerts. It is basically the ideal venue to gather major events, from the Suffragettes demonstrations, taking place on the famous site the Speakers’ Corner, very popular for public speeches and debates in the 1800s, to most modern ones such as the popular in Christmas, Winter Wonderland since 2007.
The park is also home to an exceptional habitat for a diversity of species of flora and fauna and thanks to the good management, new species have been reinvigorated in the park.
We visited the Serpentine Lake, which attracts a large number of birds, such as swans, blackbirds, dunnocks, geese and buzzards, among others, the delightful creatures dance gracefully around the lake and perform their perfect flights above the sight of the fascinated park visitors. We were lucky to experience their flights while boating on the lake.
The company Bluebird Boats, The Boathouse, has a fleet of rowing and pedal boats which operate on the lake. We enjoyed the pedalling experience while spotting some beautiful views of the landscape, animals and people enjoying themselves. The cost of the boating experience is £12 adults and £5 children for the one-hour experience.
There is a large meadow in the north-west part of the park, which provides a great space for wildflowers. This area at the same provides a haven for other species, including insects, butterflies, grasshoppers and beetles; which are a vital component to the park ecosystem.
Other highlights of the park are the Diana’s Memorial Fountain, a wonderful space for the whole family, wherein warm days children enjoy chilling out and playing. It is also possible to find several memorials statues all over the park to mark important people or event in the history of Britain.
Ravenscourt Park – The Prince:
I have visited this park possibly hundreds of times since I live in London, never disappointed, one of the treasures of living in west London. Even though not comparable in size with Hyde Park, with only 8 hectares of land, it does provide several leisure activities and wonderful space for everyone tastes, which makes it one of the flag parks in west London.
The roots of Ravenscourt Park are owed to the medieval manor of Palingswick, first recorded in the 12th century! The historic name still exists today in the name of Paddenswick Road, which runs along the north-east part of the park. Nowadays there is still a legacy from the planting all over the park, as well as plane trees and cedars. The park is part of the Conservation Area Project in west London.
I have enjoyed throughout the years living here, the many facilities, which are especially very well maintained by the administration of the park, they include a walled garden, three multiple play areas for children, and a paddling pool that my son has truly enjoyed since he was a toddler. It also includes tennis and basketball courts, a bowling green, and an all-weather pitch. You might think that it feels small, but with is big grasses and pleasant areas for strolling and running, you cannot stop being amazed by their cherry blossom during spring.
Last Monday I was blessed to share with some other traveller a beautiful picnic day, full of travel stories and even a bit of dance.
That is all my snapshot for today, don’t forget to smile and be merry today.
“I find peace where the sun-kissed leaves dance in the melody of the cool breeze that floats through the air.” Saim Cheeda
Love from
💖
Jenny
Jenny Sky Is The Limit 