Hyde Park
Hyde Park is a few minutes walk from our rental apartments. It is a vast urban oasis with thousands of trees, a large lake, purpose built sporting facilities and one of the prettiest Police stations in the country.
As with most London parks, it was a former king’s hunting ground but unusually was opened to the public in the 1600s. In fact in the plague, many Londoners camped here to escape disease. At one end of the park is the famous Park Lane, home to the Dorchester Hotel and the exclusive area of Mayfair. At the other, the magnificent Kensington Palace, the famous home of Lady Diana.
Within the park, the Serpentine lake provides boating and swimming oportunities. Members of the Sepentine swimming club brave icy waters for the annual Christmas Day race. In fact, the park hosts all manner of events throughout the year from music to races. The annual London to Brighton Car Run sees around 400 pre 1905 cars start the 60 mile race to brighton. BST Hyde Park hosts famous bands throughout the summer on a massive stage.
For refreshment, the park has a number of coffee vendors and 2 restaurants overlooking the lake. The Diana Memorial Fountain is a great place to cool off in the summer and the Serpentine Gallery offers a number of exhibitions through the year as well as providing a space each year for an architect to design and build a structure, often quite unusual.
In the Winter, Hyde Park is home to the Winter Wonderland, a large amusement park with a slightly Tyrolean/Alpine theme and great for kids large and small, .