The last two weekends have been absolutely beautiful. Low 70s, sunny, light breeze. The locals keep saying enjoy this while it lasts because typically if there is nice weather in April it means it will be a cool wet summer. I am keeping optimistic and hope we have many more beautiful days in store. One of the things we are enjoying is the London park culture. In the city, most people have limited outdoor space so where KC folks hang out in their backyards or driveways, Londoners head to the park. You see just about everything in the Park – young families having picnics, teenagers kicking balls around, alternative dread wearing folk jamming to their guitars, women in bikinis, parties that have full on tailgates set up with tables, chairs, music. Just about anything goes in the park. You can enjoy a bottle of wine, take a snooze or just sit and people watch. The other nice thing about the parks is they are pretty much all free and they are extremely well kept. The flowers are beautiful and there is always an ice cream truck or cafe within a few minute walk. (accessibility to treats is high on my priority list)
We have made the rounds the past two weekends so I’m going to give our quick park synopsis.
Richmond Park:
It’s on the south side of London. I’m going to call it an outdoorsman park. It had dirt trails, lots of trees and tons of deer. Most people we saw in the park were walking dogs, riding bikes or running. I am usually a running shoes kind of girl, but I choose to wear my knee high boots & leggings and felt a little out of place in the outdoorsy park. Next trip we will ditch the stroller, put on our hiking gear and strap Brady into the backpack.
Regent’s Park:
This park is near our house. It’s good for picnics, kite flying, watching a game of impromptu football (soccer) or feeding the ducks. We tried to feed the ducks, but unfortunately I think they get more than their fair share of bread on the weekends and wouldn’t eat a bite.
Primrose Hill:
Primrose Hill is a park with a huge hill you can climb and see fantastic views of the city. This is very eclectic upscale part of town. I am always on the look-out for celebrities as Kate Moss and other famous folk are frequently spotted. I am in the market for a pair of oversized sunglasses so I can fit in when we go here. Last weekend we enjoyed a picnic at Primrose. I sprawled out on a blanket while Brady and Cory kicked a soccer ball around.
Kew Gardens:
Kew Gardens is a very large park with green houses, a treetop viewing area, playing areas for kids and much more. Scattered throughout the park were chocolate exhibits that had various Easter shapes carved out of chocolate. Only in the mild climate here can you have chocolate carvings that don’t melt. I really enjoyed the gardens, but the one downfall is it costs £15 pounds to get in. Cory says we are probably won’t go back, but Brady proclaimed that he “loves this place” so perhaps we will make a return visit.
Misc. Park by our house:
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