Hyde Park: The park covers 142 hectares (350 acres). There is something for everyone in Hyde Park. With over 4,000 trees, a lake, a meadow, horse rides and more it is easy to forget you're in the middle of London. From formally dressed horse-riders to scantily clad sunbathers, this area attracts and welcomes everyone.
Technically two different parks, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are in practical and historical terms one huge, merging expanse. Hyde Park boasts of Speaker's Corner, a venue for free speech (an 1872 law made it legal for a speaker to assemble a crowd and address them on any subject), and the Serpentine lake, lido and art gallery.
At around 10.30 am every day the Household Cavalry can be observed riding through the park from Hyde Park Barracks to Buckingham Palace. On royal anniversaries and other important occasions a 41-gun salute is fired in Hyde Park, opposite the Dorchester Hotel in Park Lane.
History : Henry VIII acquired Hyde Park from the monks of Westminster Abbey in 1536; he and his court were often to be seen on thundering steeds in the hunt for deer. It remained a private hunting ground until James I came to the throne and permitted limited access.
Many of the striking features seen today in Hyde Park were created in the 18th century by Queen Caroline. In 1728, she took almost 300 acres from Hyde Park to form Kensington Gardens and she separated the two parks with a long ditch. Queen Caroline made a large lake called the Serpentine by damming the Westbourne Stream. More recently, in 2004, the memorial fountain to Diana, Princess of Wales, was built in the park.
The giant Crystal Palace was built here for the Great Exhibition of 1851, before being dismantled and reconstructed in the south London suburb which carries that glassy name today.
Hyde Park became a venue for national celebrations. In 1814 the Prince Regent organised fireworks to mark the end of the Napoleonic Wars, in 1851 the Great Exhibition was held and in 1977 a Silver Jubilee Exhibition was held in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's 25 years on the throne.
Admission free
Underground Stations: Knightsbridge (10 minutes), Lancaster Gate (13 minutes)
Railway Stations: Paddington Railway Station (20 minutes), Marylebone Railway Station (25 minutes)
Opening hours:
The park is open from 5am until midnight all year round.
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