Victoria Park, London

Aerial view of Victoria Park

Victoria Park (known colloquially as Vicky Park or the People's Park) is 86.18 hectares of open space that stretches out across part of the East End of London, England bordering parts of Bethnal Green, Hackney, and Bow, such as along Old Ford Road, London E3 and Victoria Park Road E9. The park is entirely within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is also used as a concert venue and hosts many festivals each year. The park is approximately a mile away from the London Olympic Park. Owing to its proximity to the Olympic park, it will be a venue for the BT London Live event, along with Hyde Park.

Modern times

This pedestrian alcove is a surviving fragment of the old London Bridge, demolished in 1831. Two have resided in Victoria Park since 1860 (August 2005)

In 1986 the Greater London Council transferred responsibility for the park to the London borough of Tower Hamlets and the London Borough of Hackney, through a joint management board. Since 1994 Tower Hamlets has run the park alone.

In recent times, Victoria Park became noted for its open-air music festivals, often linked with a political cause. The 1980 rock docudrama Rude Boy features The Clash playing at an Anti-Nazi League event in the park. Radiohead played two concerts in the park on 24–25 June 2008. Madness celebrated their 30th year with a fifth Madstock there on 17 July 2009. The park has also become very popular amongstdance music's biggest names; Dutch DJ Tiësto played at Victoria Park in 2009 and again in 2010. On 24–25 July 2010, Victoria Park was the site of the first High Voltage Festival. Victoria Park has also hosts Field Day, The Apple Cart and Underage Festival.

In summer 2008, the park was voted London's best local park by Time Out magazine. In 2011 it won its first Green Flag award and was again voted London's favourite park, this time in the national People's Choice Award.

Victoria Park is very popular with children and is host to: a One O'Clock Club for under-fives and a programme of summer activities and a children's play park including a paddling pool.

The oldest model boat club in the world, the Victoria Model Steam Boat Club, founded in the Park on 15 July 1904, is still active today and holds up to 17 of their Sunday regattas a year. The VMSB Club runs straight-running boats just as they did 100 years ago but have also progressed to radio controlled boats and hydroplanes. The first Regatta is traditionally held on Easter Sunday and the Steam Regatta is always held on the first Sunday in July.

The Park is also the home of Tower Hamlets Football Club and Victoria Park United Football club, Victoria Park Harriers & Tower Hamlets Athletics Club, which has its headquarters at St. Augustine's Hall located at the north-east corner of the Park. The Club celebrated its 80th Anniversary in 2006.

During the summer cricket is played every evening on the park's three all-weather wickets, organised by the Victoria Park Community Cricket League. The park also has a popular three-lane cricket net, free to use at all times. It was refurbished to a high standard at the end of 2005, paid for by a grant from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The park is open daily from 6:00am to dusk.

Victoria Park lake

In 2010 the National Lottery Big Lottery Fund awarded the London Borough of Tower Hamlets a £4.5 million grant towards a £12 million programme of major improvements to Victoria Park. Plans included a new building, the Eastern Hub, comprising a cafe, public toilets, community rooms and adult play facilities to promote healthy living. The landscape has been restored and a new pagoda introduced to an island on the lake; the public for the first time now has access to the island, via one of two bridges. The park was a Live Site with free access big screens for the London 2012 Olympics.

Hyde Park, London

Hyde Park

Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.

The park was the site of the Great Exhibition of 1851, for which the Crystal Palace was designed by Joseph Paxton. The park has become a traditional location for mass demonstrations. The park is divided in two by the Serpentine. The park is contiguous with Kensington Gardens; although often still assumed to be part of Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens has been technically separate since 1728, when Queen Caroline made a division between the two. Hyde Park covers 142 hectares (350 acres) and Kensington Gardens covers 111 hectares (270 acres), giving an overall area of 253 hectares (630 acres), making the combined area larger than the Principality of Monaco (196 hectares, 480 acres), though smaller than New York City's Central Park (341 hectares, 840 acres). To the southeast, outside the park, is Hyde Park Corner. Although, during daylight, the two parks merge seamlessly into each other, Kensington Gardens closes at dusk but Hyde Park remains open throughout the year from 5 am until midnight.

Hyde Park is the largest of four parks which form a chain from the entrance of Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Green Park (19 hectares), past the main entrance to Buckingham Palace and then on through Saint James's Park (23 hectares) to Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall.

Kensington Gardens

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View across The Long Water to Kensington Palace

Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park. It is shared between the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, lying within western central London. The park covers an area of 111 hectares (270 acres). The open spaces of Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park and St. James's Park together form an almost continuous "green lung" in the heart of London between Kensington and Westminster.

Bushy Park

Bushy Park

Bushy Park is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at 445 hectares (1,100 acres) in area, and lies immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton Court Park.

It is surrounded by Teddington, Hampton, Hampton Hill and Hampton Wick, and is a few minutes walk from the north side of Kingston Bridge.

The Park is within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south-west London and most of it is open to the public. Its acid grasslands are mostly just above the 25 foot contour.

Green Park

The Green Park

The Green Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London - one of the Royal Parks of London. Covering 19 hectares (47 acres), it lies between London's Hyde Park and St. James's Park. Together with Kensington Gardens and the gardens of Buckingham Palace, these parks form an almost unbroken stretch of open land reaching from Whitehall and Victoria station toKensington and Notting Hill.

By contrast with its neighbours, Green Park has no lakes, no buildings and few monuments, having only the Canada Memorial by Pierre Granche, the Constance Fund Fountain and the RAF Bomber Command Memorial, opened in 2012. The park consists entirely of mature trees rising out of turf: parkland; the only flowers are naturalized narcissus. The park is bounded on the south by Constitution Hill, on the east by the pedestrian Queen's Walk, and on the north by Piccadilly. It meets St. James's Park at Queen's Gardens with the Victoria Memorial at its centre, opposite the entrance to Buckingham Palace. To the south is the ceremonial avenue of The Mall, and the buildings of St James's Palace and Clarence House overlook the park to the east. Green Park tube station is a major interchange located on Piccadilly, Victoria and Jubilee lines near the north end of Queen's Walk.

Greenwich Park

Greenwich Park

Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of theRoyal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers 74 hectares (180 acres), and is part of the GreenwichWorld Heritage Site. It commands fine views over the River Thames, the Isle of Dogs and the City of London. The park is open from 06:00 for pedestrians (and 07:00 for traffic) all year round and closes at dusk.

London Zoo

ZSL London Zoo
Date opened
Location	Regent's Park, London, England

London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was eventually opened to the public in 1847. Today it houses a collection of 755 species ofanimals, with 16,802 individuals, making it one of the largest collections in the United Kingdom.

It is managed under the aegis of the Zoological Society of London (established in 1826), and is situated at the northern edge ofRegent's Park, on the boundary line between City of Westminster and Camden (the Regent's Canal runs through it). The Society also has a more spacious site at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire to which the larger animals such as elephants and rhinos have been moved. As well as being the first scientific zoo, ZSL London Zoo also opened the first Reptile house (1849), first public Aquarium (1853), first insect house (1881) and the first children's zoo (1938).

ZSL receives no state funding and relies on 'Fellows', 'Friends', 'Members', entrance fees and sponsorship to generate income.

Regent's Park

Regent's Park
Regent's Park bandstand and lake

Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It lies within northern central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden. It contains Regent's College and the London Zoo.

Description

The park has an outer ring road called the Outer Circle (4.3 km) and an inner ring road called the Inner Circle, which surrounds the most carefully tended section of the park, Queen Mary's Gardens. Apart from two link roads between these two, the park is reserved for pedestrians. The south, east and most of the west side of the park are lined with elegant white stucco terraces of houses designed by John Nash. Running through the northern end of the park is Regent's Canal which connects the Grand Union Canal to the former London docks.

The 166 hectares (410 acres) park is mainly open parkland which enjoys a wide range of facilities and amenities including gardens, a lake with a heronry, waterfowl and a boating area, sports pitches, and children's playgrounds. The northern side of the park is the home of London Zoo and the headquarters of the Zoological Society of London. There are several public gardens with flowers and specimen plants, including Queen Mary's Gardens in the Inner Circle, in which the Open Air Theatre is located; the formal Italian Gardens and adjacent informal English Gardens in the south-east corner of the park; and the gardens of St John's Lodge. Winfield House, the official residence of the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, stands in private grounds in the western section of the park. Nearby is the domed London Central Mosque, better known as Regent's Park mosque, a highly visible landmark.

Located to the south of the Inner Circle is Regent's College, home of the European Business School London, Regent's American College London (RACL) and Webster Graduate School among others.

Immediately to the north of Regent's Park is Primrose Hill, a park with fine views of Westminster and the City. Primrose Hill is a Royal Park and belongs to the Sovereign along with all the other Royal Parks of the Crown Estate.

The supposition that Primrose Hill is owned and maintained by the Corporation of London is an error that has been the subject of successful Crown litigation in both in the High Court and Court of Appeal.

Management

The public areas of Regent's Park are managed by The Royal Parks, a government agency. The Crown Estate Paving Commission is responsible for managing certain aspects of the built environment of Regent's Park. The park lies within the boundaries of the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, but those authorities have only peripheral input to the management of the park. The Crown Estate owns the freehold of Regent's Park.

Richmond, London

Richmond

Richmond Riverside

Richmond is an affluent town in south west London, England, and is part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.Historically part of Surrey, it is located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) west-southwest of Charing Cross.

The founding and naming of Richmond followed the Tudor building of Richmond Palace early in the 16th century. During this era the town and palace were particularly associated with Elizabeth I. During the 18th century Richmond Bridge was completed and many Georgian terraces were built, particularly around Richmond Green and on Richmond Hill. These remain well preserved and many now have listed building status. The opening of the railway station in 1846 was a significant event in the absorption of the town into a rapidly expanding London. Richmond was formerly part of the ancient parish of Kingston upon Thames in the county of Surrey and itbecame a municipal borough in 1890 that was enlarged in 1892 and 1933. It has formed part of Greater London since 1965.^[3]

Richmond is a much sought after residential location, and among the most wealthy areas in the United Kingdom. It is also a significant commercial and upmarket retail centre, and has a developed day and evening economy. The town is located on ameander of the River Thames, with a large number of parks and open spaces, including Richmond Park, and many protected conservation areas. Richmond is noted for its high quality of life, as well as its affluence, and has been assessed as one of the happiest places in which to live in the UK.

St. James's Park

Looking east from the Blue Bridge on St. James's Park Lake.

St. James's Park is a 23 hectares (57 acres) park in the City of Westminster, central London - the oldest of the Royal Parks of London. The park lies at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St. James the Less.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1092