London Parks Walk

This walk, previously described as the ‘Five-Parks Walk’ – but who’s counting? – has over the years become an annual fixture in our winter programme.

So, come Saturday 4 January and with the weather forecast for very cold temperatures throughout the day, I was more than surprised when 26 of us had gathered below the large billboard opposite Lambeth North tube station. It proves that our London-based walks are popular.

Starting with the Archbishops Park from where one can glean through the barren tree branches parts of Lambeth Palace we made our way to St. James Park. En-route we passed the Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace, then across Lambeth Bridge into Victoria Tower gardens; on through the back streets to St. John’s Smith Square, Westminster Abbey Deans Yard – all relatively quiet until we came out by Victoria Street, where the hustle and bustle could be felt instantly from the tourists and locals going about their day.

From St. James’s Park along the lake, where the Pelicans could be seen perching on rocks, to Green Park, then across the very busy Hyde Park Corner junction into Hyde Park. The route from there took us through the rose gardens, then along the Serpentine Lake and the Long Water, past the Henry Moore sculpture to the Kensington Gardens Fountains.

Time for lunch, we made our way to The Mitre pub in Craven Terrace where most of our group enjoyed food and drinks and the chance to warm up our chilly bones. At that point we were joined by a new walker for the afternoon section.

After lunch we returned to Kensington Garden, past the Peter Pan and Physical Energy statues, to the Round Pond with plenty of swans, ducks and geese vying for attention, through the Kensington Palace gardens before hitting the back streets leading to Holland Park. By then several of our walkers had broken away from the group at various stages. By the time we walked through Holland Park with its terraced Knot and the Japanese gardens, eleven of us completed the walk, also enjoying the clearer air through the wooded enclosures before facing public transport for our respective journeys home.

My thanks go to everyone for having made the effort to venture out with me on this chilly day and also to Carole, Mary-Jane, Catherine and Elizabeth H for the photos. And remember, keep walking – Sigrid