A Park's Delight

There is certainly no secret of my professed love of London's parks...and it may stem from the fact that they are all perfectly contained magical spots of beauty and free, unhurried space in the middle of chaos. There is something wonderful in the ability to be amidst honking horns, masses of people, and hugely threatening buildings one moment, and then the next moment, be on the other side of an ornate gate that only slightly blocks it all from view, turning your back to see trees and green space, and water and wildlife.

And although I can say without doubt that I love all of the parks - I hold a special place for Hyde Park. Here you can find the Winter Wonderland carnival still remaining, impromptu footballers holding a training on a patch of green space, the elegantly wealthy Park Lane residents strolling alongside the out-of-city dwellers, perfectly manicured mazes to walk, statues and even a gallery, Princess Diana's memorial, Speaker's Corner, small dogs (always small, terrier-like dogs) running free, radical Rastafarian-esq rollerbladers weaving in and out of cones and jamming to their tunes, police atop horses roaming the yard, and The Serpentine - which is a man-made river that has a boardwalk/path running alongside it. I cannot imagine a single person, who taken in by the magic of the park, could believe a city of millions, right on its border.

Some pictures of my stroll from yesterday...