Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

Our “Home Base” here in London is just a couple blocks away from an access to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. We were expecting the warmest temperatures today so we decided to go explore those outdoor areas.

After filling up with breakfast at the hotel, we walked to the park entrance on our side of the block.

Hyde Park is the largest of the four Royal Parks opened to the public, covering 350 acres in central London. It merges right into Kensington Gardens which covers another 275 acres.

We walked toward Kensington Palace to curb my interest in seeing the statue of Queen Victoria. I was picking up all the references to Queen Victoria and her husband Albert after the girls and I have been watching so much of the BBC Victoria series lately.

Kensington Palace was the birthplace of Victoria in 1819 and has been a residence of the Royal British family since the 17th century. Most notably, it is the current home of William and Kate of the Royal Family.

We spent our day meandering though the gardens, taking a couple breaks here and there for lunch and coffee.

We followed the footpath markers for the Princess of Wales Memorial Walk which led to a memorial fountain for Princess Diana. We enjoyed watching the children frolic through the waters and families picnicking on the grounds.

Then we made our way to the Albert Memorial which was commissioned by Queen Victoria after her husband Prince Albert died in 1861.

From there we walked quite a bit more just enjoying the open scenes of the parks.

We found our way to the Italian Garden, which is a beautiful display of flowers and fountains and home to many swans. This garden was commissioned by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s hubby, as gift for his wife.