Free London
Free Outdoor Activities
Bushy Park
Bushy Park is London's second largest Royal Park with 320 red and fallow deer which roam free to enjoy the peace and tranquillity. Areas of interest include the sixty-acre woodland gardens, the site of the American camp based in Bushy during WWII and Chestnut Avenue.
Friday Night Skates
Pull on your roller skates and join over 5,000 skaters whizzing around the streets of London. The skate departs from Wellington Arch every Friday at 20.00. It's a great way to have fun without the wheels coming off your bank balance!
Visit the Friday Night Skate website for full details.
Gillespie Park
Daily 08.00am to dusk on weekdays and 10.00 to 16.00 at weekends. A small ecology park supporting a remarkable diversity of habitats and species - the original park consists of a mosaic of created habitats, including a pond, woodland and grassland. Gillespie Park has a state-of-the-art visitor and education centre (a renowned example of sustainable architecture).
Green Park
Open daily from dawn to dusk. A Royal hunting ground in origin, Green Park is more rural in design than St James's with mature trees and grassland. It is an important link between St James's Park and Hyde Park.
Hampstead Heath/Parliament Hill
Open 24 hours a day. The Heath is a fantastic place to stroll, bird-watch or just play. You can swim in the ponds or Parliament Hill Lido when the weather is clement (fees payable). The views on a clear day can include the whole of central London.
Holland Park
Holland Park contains formal gardens, recreation facilities, a theatre, art galleries and large semi-natural woodland. There is also a restaurant and cafeteria, and a celebrated Dutch Garden. An ecology centre provides outdoor educational facilities and conducts activities such as nature trails, guided walks and pond investigations.
Hyde Park
The most central open space in London and very close to Oxford Street, take a stroll as the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of your day in town. Hyde Park is a place where people go and picnic in summer, horse ride, rollerblade or just walk.
Kensington Gardens
Open 06.00 to dusk every day. Kensington Gardens is adjacent to Hyde Park. Visitors can admire the sunken garden, stop for a drink at the Orangery and appreciate the paintings at the Serpentine Gallery. See the Princess Diana water sculpture.
Mile End Park
Mile End Park has been transformed for the 21st Century; incorporating many separate parks, the Play Arena, Ecology Park, Arts-park, Terrace Garden, Adventure Park, Sports Park and Children's Park.
Mudchute Park and Farm
Open daily 09.30 to 16.30. Set in 32 acres of parkland in the shadow of Canary Wharf. Mudchute Park and Farm is the largest city farm in the country with a riding school, farm animals, a cafe and shop. There is a daily charge for riding and booking is necessary.
Primrose Hill
Take the tube or alternatively walk to Primrose Hill from the north end of Regents Park (by the zoo). It has one of the loftiest vantage points over the city. The village is an enclave of specialist shops and is a great place to eat.
The Regent’s Park
The Regent’s Park and the Queen Mary's garden are open daily from 05.00 to 30mins before dusk. An excellent park with children’s play areas, gardens, sports facilities and an open air theatre (fees payable).
Richmond Park
Open daily from 07.30 to dusk. Richmond Park used to be a royal hunting ground. It is a home to much wildlife including red and fallow deer. Other attractions include the Isabella Plantation, Pembroke Lodge which was the childhood home of Bertrand Russell and now it is a café and the Palladian Villa.
Russell Square
A large Georgian Square nearby the British Museum, Russel Square is ideal for a break from the busy city: sit by the fountain or buy a drink from the café.
St James's Park
Open daily from dawn to dusk. St. James's Park is at the heart of the nation with Royal Palaces and government buildings all around. The Park was entirely redesigned in its current romantic, informal style in the 19th Century. Some guided walks available.
Thames Barrier Park
Next to the Thames Barrier, and south of the Royal Victoria Dock, London's first major riverside park in over 50 years, the Thames Barrier Park, was opened to the public in November 2000. Designed by renowned modernist French landscape architect, Alain Provost, the park is unique in the UK. It features a stunning water fountain at the entrance, which flows into the 'Green Dock', a 400-metre long sunken landscaped garden.
Victoria Park
A wonderful place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. With 218 acres of beautiful parkland Victoria Park is one of the greatest assets of the East End. It has two lakes, ornamental gardens and an animal enclosure.
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