Route: The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk
Area: Central London
Date of walk: 7th November 2016
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 8.1 miles
Weather: Light cloud with sunny spells
Londoners are lucky to have no less than eight Royal Parks on their doorsteps, with 5,000 acres of ancient parkland enabling them to escape from the hustle and bustle of city living
The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, opened in June 2000, visits four of those parks – St James’s Park, Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
Navigation is a simple affair thanks to 90 attractive metal plaques set in the ground which direct walkers along the route
As it’s a circular walk, the start can be anywhere and for us it was convenient to start from Green Park tube station, just a few yards away from the route. We first made our way to St James’s Park, home to a large variety of waterfowl including the famous resident pelicans, and then we returned via Green Park to walk through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens – all four parks had plenty of interest and it was a superb walk
Along the way we passed by the Royal Albert Hall. We’d be back there that evening and the purpose of that visit is revealed in the final photo…
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
Having taken the train to London we checked in at the Pullman Hotel - this is the view of St Pancras Station from the 12th floor
The same view through a fisheye lens
Half an hour later we arrive at Green Park to start the walk
We pass by Buckingham Palace on the way to nearby St James’s Park
Entrance to St James’s Park
St James’s Park Lake
Feeding the birds
Goldeneye duck
Ruddy Shelduck
Looking along the lake to The Blue Bridge, with a heron lurking bottom right of the picture
Duck Island Cottage, built in 1841
The famous pelicans - their ancestors were first introduced into the park in 1664 as a gift from the Russian Ambassador
One of the waymarking plaques along the Memorial Walk
The London Eye
We leave St James’s Park to head towards Hyde Park
We pass by Buckingham Palace again…
Royal Regiment of Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner
Entering Hyde Park through the Rose Garden
Heron by the edge of The Serpentine
Feeding the birds by The Serpentine
We walk through Hyde Park along the south bank of The Serpentine
Isis - a bronze sculpture by Simon Gudgeon installed in 2009
Improving weather as we enter Kensington Gardens
We pass by the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall - we’ll be returning to the Hall tonight with two golden tickets
Kensington Palace
The Round Pond…
There are numerous paths across the park, but the plaques keep us on course
Looking back to the Round Pond
Physical Energy, a statue in commemoration of Cecil Rhodes
Ring-necked parakeets - a problem in London thanks to Jimi Hendrix if you believe one of the many myths about the cause of these birds arriving here
Another heron, by the Long Water - they are a lot less shy here than their countryside cousins
The Italian Gardens, a romantic gesture from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria
Late afternoon as we leave Hyde Park
We pass below the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner
The end of the walk, but not the end of the day…
We walk through St Pancras Station - one of my favourite buidlings - on the way back to our hotel
…and that view again from the 12th floor of the Pullman before we returned to the Royal Albert Hall
A wonderful end to a wonderful day
