London ~ A Walk in the Park.

Ha the title of this post sadly doesn’t refer to my knowledge of The London Underground! I am still hopelessly confused by the city’s magnificent transport system. This post simply documents a stroll from A to B, through three beautiful Royal Parks.

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Baby Cakes. 🙂

After hungrily devouring these gorgeous and expensive cakes in Harrods, with our eyes, we bought a few less expensive items for a picnic in nearby Hyde Park.  Hyde Park covers 350 acres and it was just so nice  to get out of the hustle and bustle , and  into a lovely green space.

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Spring Blossom selfie. 🙂

Now I’m afraid I didn’t do any research about the Royal Parks. Looking up Hyde Park now, I can see it is full of beautiful sculptures and statues, which we of course completely missed !  I did however see plenty of wildlife and lots of Spring Blossom. 🙂

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Egyptian Geese and their brood.
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Moorhen amongst the reeds.
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Beautiful tulips .
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Anyone any idea what the taller yellow flowers are?

We did spot  two sculptures in Hyde Park.  The marble Boy and Dolphin Fountain was made in 1862 by Alexander Munro, a friend of Alice In Wonderlands creator , Lewis Carroll.  Not far from him is The Huntress Fountain, located in The Rose Garden. Look closely and see that she has made the ideal perch for Mr Magpie.

Our stroll had taken us as far as Wellington Arch which opens into the smallest of London’s Royal Parks, Green Park.  Happily we decided to carry on and enjoy the open space. 🙂

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Wellington Arch was built as a Victory Arch and celebrates Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon.

The Parks are all the more pretty at this time of year , due to the gorgeous Spring Blossom. If you are in London right now be sure to head to the Royal Parks. 🙂 And look out for the city’s population of bright green parakeets! Popular legend has it that  the Ring Tailed Parakeet population was given a helping hand  by rock star Jimi Hendrix , who released two on Carnaby Street in the Sixties….

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Parakeet in Green Park.

We walked through Green Park towards Buckingham Palace,  the official residence of the Queen.  A carpet of stunning colours greeted us as we crossed over the road into the oldest of the Royal Parks, St James’s Park.

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Buckingham Palace.

St James’s Park is a delightful place to stop for an ice cream and admire the water fowl that frequent the lake. There are also wonderful views from the Blue Bridge towards Westminster and the London Eye.

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The Bird keeper’s Cottage and the lake.
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Red necked geese.
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London Eye from the Blue Bridge.
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Grey Squirrel.
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Spotted this very tame Heron watching the lake from under the cherry blossom. 🙂
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Very tame indeed. 

We even managed to spot St James’s most famous residents !   Pelicans have lived in the park since  1664, when the Russian Ambassador gifted some to Charles II.  They are cared for by a Wildlife Officer who feeds them fish every day and makes sure they are in tip top condition. The exotic birds  also snack on fish in the lake and their usual hangout is Pelican Rock below.

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Pelicans on Pelican Rock.

Our walk had taken us through three Royal Parks and the hotel was mere minutes away. Who needs the Underground. 🙂

Which is your favourite London Park? 

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14 thoughts on “London ~ A Walk in the Park.”

  1. What great snapshots of London this Spring. Even though I live just outside London I rarely pop up to enjoy the parks themselves (usually it’s food and theatre on my trips!) You might have inspired me to take a stroll soon .

  2. I did so enjoy that! Our capital city has so much green space, there’s always somewhere to retreat to. I’m very fond of St. James, since they were good enough to call it after my son, but anywhere with blossom is good with me 🙂 🙂

  3. Can you believe it I’ve not visited London for any sightseeing! Lovely pictures. You captured spring in the parks so well. The tall flowers are called fritillaria imperialis. Thanks for sharing your London adventures xx

    1. Thanks for the flower info! They are striking flowers. London is full of suprises. You should go oneday. More London posts will be following I’m sure.x

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