Holland Park

It really is worth making a special trip to the beautifully landscaped Holland Park – the largest of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s parks. Within its 55 acres, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to picturesque vistas and eye-catching ornamental areas.

The Holland Park gardens were created in the early 1800s by Lord Holland.The park surrounds a Jacobean mansion, Holland House, which was almost completely destroyed after a bombing in the Second World War. Parts of the house were restored and now form the backdrop for Opera Holland Park while the east wing houses a youth hostel.

Vibrant murals in the arcade near the Old Stables, painted by Mao Wen Biao in 1994–95, show an imaginary scene from one of the garden parties that used to be held by the Earl of Ilchester in the grounds of Holland House in the 1870s.

While most London parks are home to squirrels and ducks, in Holland Park peacocks roam the grounds, puncturing the tranquillity with their irreverent squawking, accustomed to the daily close-range admiration of visitors.

A highlight of the park is the Kyoto Garden, created in 1991 by a team of Japanese gardeners from the Kyoto Garden Association, in the traditional Japanese ‘tour garden’ style. Here a three-step waterfall, symbolises steep mountains and deep gorges, and a stone bridge crosses a pond inhabited by colourful koi carp. Stone lanterns and a stone washbasin line the garden’s path.

Contrasting with the compact perfection of the Kyoto Garden is the grand sundial Tortoises with Triangle and Time, in the centre of the Dry Garden. Commissioned for the Millennium celebrations, it is made up of two giant tortoises, one supporting the triangular sundial on its back. Visitors will find a children’s play area, sports facilities, cafeteria and restaurant.

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Holland Park is easily accessible to the colourful diversity of Notting Hill, the shops of Kensington High Street and the ever-popular Kensington Gardens.

Nearest tube station: Holland Park – Central Line

Primrose Hill

If you’re planning a trip to Regent’s Park and London Zoo, don’t miss out on visiting this impressive expanse of grassy rolling hill that boasts arguably the most spectacular views of the city’s skyline.

Primrose Hill is named after the flowers that have grown there for over 600 years. Separated from Regent’s Park by a major road, Primrose Hill wasn’t part of architect John Nash’s original Regent’s Park plan. Like Regent’s Park, this area was part of a hunting forest, appropriated by Henry VIII.This was once the setting for duals and prize-fights.The 122 acres of Primrose Hill used to belong to Eton College and in 1841 it was bought by the Crown to extend the parkland available to the poor people of north London for open-air recreation.

Primrose Hill has a distinctive shape and timeless character of its own. A network of paths, bordered by elegant black lamp-posts, crisscross the hill and small clumps of hawthorn bent by the wind are dotted here and there.At the top of the hill is one of the six protected viewpoints in London.The summit is almost 63m (206 feet) above sea level and the trees are kept low so as not to obscure the view.

Primroses are being reintroduced and a meadow area has been established, mowed only once a year to allow wildflowers and interesting grasses to proliferate. Facilities at Primrose Hill include 20 different kinds of exercise equipment available for no charge – there has been an outdoor gymnasium on this site since Victorian times – and a children’s playground. The hill was the setting for 101 Dalmatians, with Pongo beginning the twilight barking from the hilltop, and Bridget Jones:The Edge of Reason was filmed in the highly fashionable surrounding Primrose Hill area in 2004.

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Regent’s Park and London Zoo are literally across the road, and Regent’s Park Road nearby has a variety of interesting shops.

Nearest tube station: Chalk Farm – Northern Line.

Further information

The Best of London Parks and Small Green Spaces by Louise and Simon Read is a valuable source of practical information; an ebook version will be available in September – visit www.howtobooks.co.uk