Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park are two beautiful parts of the Royal Gardens in London. They are right next to each other, so for our intents and purposes, they really form one giant green space.Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park are two beautiful parts of the Royal Gardens in London. They are right next to each other, so for our intents and purposes, they really form one giant green space.

While we were in London we stayed just a few blocks from an entrance to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park so we spent quite a bit of time there. It is beautiful place to walk around and enjoy the outdoors right in the middle of the city.

Because Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park are such large areas I have decided to give you a few highlights to visit while you are there. Most of my suggestions focus on the Kensington Gardens side. Hyde Park tends to have more large open areas and less of the monuments, but it is still a lot of fun to walk around there. To be honest the garden and park just run together and in the middle I am not always sure which one I am.

1. Walk through the Italian Garden

Dividing Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park is a water body known as the Long Water which eventually becomes the Serpentine Lake. At the Northern end of the park this water has its start in the area known as the Italian Garden.

Our hotel was located near the gate that enters on the Italian Garden so this is the first place that we visited.

2. See Peter Pan

Kensington Gardens is a key location in the Peter Pan story by J. M. Barrie and to honor that story, there is a statue of the boy who never grew up in the park. It is a popular place to visit and take a picture. Peter Pan is one of my favorite stories of all time, so of course this statue was on my must see list.

If you head south from the Italian Garden and stick to the Kensington Gardens side of the Long Water you will find the Peter Pan statue in a few minutes. There are helpful directional signs throughout the park pointing you toward most of the points of interest. If you happen to get on the wrong path just look for these signs pointing toward Peter Pan.

3. Wade in the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain

If you continue on the path that runs along the Long Water you will eventually cross a street called Carriage Drive. I believe this road is actually the divider between the two parks. Shortly after crossing the street you will come to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. The fountain is one of our favorite places in the Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park area.

The fountain is a circle made up of different water features all the way around. Wading in the fountain is a popular activity with the children who visit the park and while we were there during the hottest part of the year all the adults also waded into the water.

4. Visit the Albert Memorial

You’ll need to make your way back across Carriage Drive into Kensington Gardens to get the Albert Memorial. Then the best thing to do is follow signs for the Albert Memorial to the South until you see it rising high above the gardens.

Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, was apparently very popular and so he has a huge gilded memorial in Kensington Gardens.

5. See the Elfin Oak

From the Albert Memorial head Northwest, follow signs for the Princess Diana Playground (different than the Memorial Fountain) when you see them. You will likely walk past the Round Pond, or the Kensington Palace on your way. The palace is definitely worth visiting if you have a London Pass, but we will do a separate post about that in the future.

Outside of the Princess Diana Playground in Kensington Garden you will see a tree in a cage. This is the Elfin Oak and it is covered in carvings of elves and fairies of all kinds. Unfortunately due to vandals, it has to be kept inside the cage but you can still see it.

I placed my phone camera lens in the mesh squares in order to get some pictures without the cage.

6. See Marble Arch

So far my suggestions have gone in a somewhat logical order, but my sixth stop happens to be at the other end of Hyde Park, a long ways away from the Elfin Oak. The Marble Arch is found in the Northeast corner of Hyde Park. It is next to a famous area known as Speaker’s Corner where people go to say whatever they want about controversial subjects.

The Marble Arch used to be attached to Buckingham Palace, but it was eventually moved to Hyde Park where you can see it now. There is a fountain and other pieces of art located nearby.

Sum Up

Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park are London must-sees. They are beautiful and a lot of fun to walk around in. There are a few places to eat in the park so you can get a meal or a snack if you need to. There are bathrooms near some of the entrances, but in typical English fashion they will cost you 20p to get in. The parks are all free though so I guess that makes up for it.