The Parks of cental London

It always amazes me how much green space there is in London. You can pretty much walk from one end of the city to the other almost avoiding streets entirely.

The other day I walked from Tottenham Court Road to High Street Kensington - through St James's Park, Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

One of the things I love the most about London is the landscapes where there's a complete mix of the very old and the very new. You can see evidence of it at almost every turn.

At Hyde Park Corner - alongside Wellington's Arch and an old war memorial to the Royal Artillery of the First and Second World Wars - there's a brand new war monument. It's the Australian war memorial - celebrating Aussies from all across the globe that have been involved in various conflicts. It's just one of the contrasts of old and new in the same place which I love.

My favourite park in London is definitely Kensington Gardens. It has everything - a lake, loads of intersting memorials, wooded areas and lots and lots of paths. Near the round pond there's a memorial to Peter Pan - similar to the one to Alice in Wonderland in New York's Central Park.

But by far the best part of Kensington Gardens is the Albert Memorial.


It's truly spectacular. From one angle it has the Royal Albert Hall as its backdrop. At each corner of memorial to Queen Victoria's husband there's a tableux to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, and also to four differnt industries - agriculture, manufacture, commerce and engineering.



A million times better than the rubbish, broken fountain in Hyde Park for Diana, Princess of Wales that looks like a drain!