I walked through this park on my first day in London. I was very intrigued with the different flora…read moreand fauna in the area. Pelicans, fowls, colorful birds are native to the park. It is such a serene walk, as there are no cars coming in and out of the area. There are bicyclists in the area but they don't do much to deter walkers. This park is right across from the popular Buckingham palace and offers a great view of the guards.

We walked thru St.James Park on our way to Buckingham Palace. This is the oldest Royal Park in…read moreLondon. Over 57 acres with a small lake,it borders Buckingham Palace and the Clarence House. Many benches through the park as well as a nice kids play area. We loved watching all the various ducks and other waterfowl in the lake.

I've been fortunate enough to stroll through this beautifully maintained landscape on multiple…read moreoccasions. There are lots of paths and historical monuments and statues to check out (including the Prince Albert memorial). The Peter Pan statue, Italian Gardens, and Princess Di playground are just some of many attractions worth seeing here. Lovely place to unwind from a day of touristy activities, the hustle and bustle of London, or for taking a lunch work break. The Round Pond is worth seeing as well.

Kensington Gardens is one of London's eight Royal Parks, covering 265 acres just to the west of…read moreHyde Park. We visited a week or so ago after a lunch in Kensington. We walked over to see the exterior of Kensington Palace. Then we took a picture of the Queen Victoria Statue, explored the Diana Princess of Wales Sunken Garden, wandered around the Round Pond, visited the Serpentine South Gallery, and then walked past the Albert Memorial on our way out of the park. And that was just scratching the surface of what the park has to offer! The Sunken Garden was the highlight for me. It was much less crowded than the rest of the park, and it's a beautiful tribute to Diana from her sons. It was also the lushest part of the park we saw - the park was a little brown and beige after the heat of summer when we visited the first week of September. It was a great place to stretch our legs after a wonderful but heavy lunch!

If you have not visited the development just north of Kings Cross recently, I urge you to do so…read more It's really impressive, albeit mostly focused around housing and a lot of reasonably high-end retail. There are lots of places to eat (both restaurants and coffee) and there's quite a student vibe, thanks to the Central St Martins art and fashion college being located there. However, if you're looking for an antidote, just cross the canal and then you will find the Camley Street Natural Park. It's a delightful semi-wilderness, with lots of wild planting, trees and ponds, with paths and seating. The drawer for me is their café. They serve teas, coffees, a limited range of alcoholic drinks, fresh organic juices, and cakes and light snacks. These include a soup of the day, sandwiches, toasted sandwiches and paninis. Most of the options are vegan or vegetarian, although there are a few meaty options as well. They have only outdoor seating (albeit under cover), so it is a good option if it is warm (or you are well wrapped up). The quality is really good, but do be prepared for a bit of a wait, especially if they busy, as everything is prepared to order. To be fair, the friendly staff warned us of this, but we were happy to wait and watch the world go by. A bit of a find, and worth knowing about.

You lucky lucky people…read more You're lucky I'm so nice and telling you about a hidden gem in the heart of London. A place to go when you thought you'd seen it all. Somewhere to escape and to learn. Somewhere where children can look a pond bugs and adults can (probably) kiss. We were on an anti tourist walk on a Saturday in and around Camden mostly because I'm a mild masochist who likes a challenge. We wound our way though lesser known parts of Regent's Park and down Regent's canal, only failing when we passed Camden Lock itself. To the east of this is this wonderful little two acre park right next to St Pancras international Station. Blink and you miss it, I would encourage most people to blink. This is two acres of land saved by the London Wildlife Trust and kept as a wildish nature reserve. From the canal it just looks like trees but get in and you will find a mini paradise of eco-conservationism. We were almost alone with the city feeling a million miles away in a pristine wild wetland, meadow and woodland area that has facilities for classes and education. It's wonderful little surprises like this that keep pulling me back to London so seriously...tell no-one, or you'll ruin my anti-tourist walk.

From where we stayed in Notting Hill, we were a very short walk to Holland Park…read more We entered through Holland Walk and headed to the Dutch Garden first, where thousands of tulips were starting to bloom. It was a bit early in the season so the garden was not nearly as beautiful as it might have been just a week later. This year, the color theme was primarily purple and yellow and those were the tulips not fully bloomed. A garden plot with vibrant red tulips that were in full bloom was very pretty! After, we walked onto the Kyoto Garden, which was much more congested because it is a picturesque spot. There is a walking path around a pond with a key photo spot being the waterfall. The tourists queue up in one line clockwise to take photos at the waterfall. Oddly, there are some walkers that are clearly frustrated by the presence of visitors and insist on walking counter-clockwise through the visitors. We exited on Abbotsbury Road, on the opposite side of the park. It was a nice 1-2 hour excursion, a nice walk and recommend it!

When we visited London a few weeks ago, my husband and I spent a day exploring Kensington. I'm glad…read morethat that included a visit to Holland Park, a gorgeous little park in the area. The park contains a cafe, formal gardens, a playground, murals, a giant chess set, and more. We took a stroll through the park, visiting the Dutch Garden and Kyoto Garden. Kyoto Garden was the highlight of our time in the park - the tiered waterfall, koi fish, and peacocks made for some beautiful photographs. It was such a relaxing way to spend some time and stretch our legs between house tours in the neighborhood!

Oh my, what's not to love!?…read more My brood and I took a long, meandering Sunday walk and came upon the New River Walk -- an unexpected treat amidst the traffic, buses and busy streets of London. A perfectly situated oasis. You can close your eyes and you might think you were out in a forest preserve somewhere! From the Islington Parks site: "This park is part of the historic new river that brought water into London, now a peaceful oasis for wildlife, featuring historic linear water features, notable trees including swamp cypress and dawn redwood." Also, from my observations: ducks, birds, green leaves and grass, a bridge or two, good photo opportunities and minimal rubbish (either the people that use this are respectful of the New River Walk or the clean up crews are very efficient). Nearest Highbury and Islington Station or Essex Road Station. If you are walking in the area or could use this as part of your walking commute -- do pop in! Beautiful.

Nice place for a walk - I often walk there on Sundays when I got from The Cellars (one of my…read morefavourite Sunday roast places) to Camden Passage / Upper Street (one of my Sunday places for friends who visit). It is much nicer than plainly walking in the street and also can show out of towners how peaceful London can still be! The great thing is, no bikes are allowed here so you can have a nice, calming walk. You know you're metres away from the busy streets of London but you don't feel it that much. You just stroll along this river (not a natural river but still very pleasant) and see some wildlife - I even spotted a heron once in one of the little islands (yes, I like birds)! Of course you have squirrels as well because, well, you can't get away from them anywhere in London. Lots of ducks too (they are fairly fat already and I would like to remind the lovely people reading this review that feeding them bread is not actually good for the poor little duckies: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/16/dont-feed-the-ducks-bread-say-conservationists). There is a lovely little bridge at some point, the water is very clean (I still would not drink it, mind you), and given that there is a reasonable amount of bins, so is the walkway.

A few weeks ago I joined my friends for a walk in Waterlow Park with their dalmatian whippet mix…read morepup, MoMo. Fall was quickly turning to winter and autumn hued leaves were all around. While it was too cold for a picnic on this visit, I definitely want to come back for one in the spring. Located near on a hillside near the posh Highgate Village, views of London from this park are very pretty. An ideal place to bring a kid, a dog or a person you fancy.

As a passionate and dutiful dog owner, a trip to Waterlow Park is on my daily to-do list. It's such…read morea lovely park, with loads of old trees, spacious meadows...and best of all, it's all so well-maintained. In fact, the other day we had visitors from South London and they were in awe by how luscious and well-kept this park was...apparently quite a difference to some of the more plain commons. What's also nice about this park is the fact that you have amazing views over the City (on clear days, that is). A good time to come here is around lunch-time, sit on one if the many benches and soak in the beauties surrounding you... The only thing that I would like to change, is the rubbish bins. The thing with them is...they don't have a lid or a cover, which invites the non-human inhabitants of this lovely park (aka squirrels, foxes & crows) to rummage through the bins in the search for edible left-overs. While doing that, they have no shame in littering the floor with tissues, coffee cups and wrapping paper. My concern is not so much the appeal of this, but I'm more concerned about my dog, who namely thinks that this rubbish is the most tasty thing in the world!

Nice park in Soho that is great for people watching and talking with a friend. You have to be…read moremindful of the pigeons flying low. Treat yourself!

"If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life." - The Importance of Being Earnest…read moreby Oscar Wilde Soho Square is in the heart of SOHO, Westminster, UK. There's really not much here, well err, unless you're an Anglophile and knee deep with the royals. I mean you can hang around King Charles II all day here, or I should say his likeliness in a very old statue that dates to circa 1680. Frankly, I don't know much about Charles except for the fact that he would be a fashion geek in today's world, but again we're talking 1600's fashionista, so I guess his threads and locks has lady's man written all over it. Lady Gilbert restored old Charles and placed it in the square. In fact, I found Lady Gilbert a tad bit more interesting than King Charles II. I mean she did save the old statue and placed it on a small island, on her private lake, for safe keeping. And in her dying will, she made sure Charles was placed back to Soho Square, where he stands proudly today. Smirking at all the Brits and tourists that come flocking to the square to find not much but a very old statue of King Charles II. If you're a history romantic, like I am, I guess you'll enjoy the ambiance. Finally, Between 1778 and 1801 the Square was home to the infamous White House brothel at the Manor House, 21 Soho Square. And that's what it's all about! Ta!

This has to be one of North London's best kept secrets! I can't believe I had never heard of this…read moregarden (even my dad had not heard of it and he grew up near here.) I assume the lucky locals would like to keep this as a secret treasure, but it is too good not to share with yelpers!! The Pergola and Hill Gardens are hidden between Hampstead Heath and Golders Hill Park. The Pergola half of the garden is essentially a long raised walkway, under a long pergola made from wood and stone, covered in gorgeous smelling roses and other climbing plants. The other half of the garden has a large square pond full of lilies, sculptured hills and nice soft grass to sit on and have a picnic. I have a feeling it could be very busy on nice days...but when we visited it all seemed far quieter than Golders Hill Park - even though it is so, so much nicer. Practicalities: - If you don't want to walk, just take the 210 bus and get off at Inverforth House, you can see the signs to the garden. - It's free (!)

This place is beyond beautiful. I'm always surprised when I find places like this in London that is…read moreopen for the general public with no fee. Tucked away on the smaller side of Hampstead Heath, in between Hampstead Heath and Golders Hill Park is this little Gem. Because it's hidden away it's less busy than both the known green spaces. The pergola goes on and on with hidden entrances to the gardens. The gardens all have walk ways for you to meander through them. I can imagine that this place will get used for many photoshoots. You have to be careful you're not walking into someone else's shot. None of the photos or reviews will EVER do this place justice. Trust me and go see for yourself.