One of the amazing things about London is the abundance of green space. The amount of parkland came as quite a surprise when I first moved to the sprawling metropolis more than a decade ago, and it's the parks that probably keep many people living in London, including me!
This year the Royal Parks which include Bushy Park (with the Longford River), The Green Park, Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Regent's Park (and Primrose Hill), Richmond Park, and St James's Park, are Celebrating 160 years 1851-2011.
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| image courtesy of http://www.royalparks.gov.uk/ |
In 1851, the Crown Lands Act transferred management of the Royal Parks to the Government. This meant that the public was freely able to enjoy access to all of London's Royal Parks for the first time - transforming them into the world-famous public spaces that are today enjoyed by over 37 million people each year.
In 2011, The Royal Parks agency celebrates 160 years of public enjoyment of the parks with a season of distinctive and wide-ranging events. It's a celebration of these green public spaces that make London such a wonderful place to be whether you are simply sitting on a bench under a tree, lying on the grass in the sun on a lunchbreak, letting the children run free at the weekends or attending a festival or concert.
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| image courtesy of http://www.royalparks.gov.uk/ |
From July to Sep the Nomad Outdoor Cinema comes to the parks with a season of outdoor cinema, screening classics and cult favourites in beautiful surroundings, under the stars, with special guests, live music and theatre and a few more surprises along the way. I'm hoping to make it to at least one of the film showings this summer - it might have to be E.T.
Our local park Battersea is a place I am so fond of that I shall have to dedicate a whole blog post to it and all its' glory. Another big green space that we visit each season is Kew Gardens. It's such an inspiring place.
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| Temple of Imagination, image courtsey of http://www.kew.org/ |
This summer holidays there will be Summer Storytelling Sundays in the Temple of Imagination. Oooh, it sounds magical.: Come to our Temple of Imagination to listen to the stories from Kew Palace and the Gardens, look at our original cushions, and explore the new tactile books all especially created for this imaginative place with the help of local community groups. Temple of Imagination is a community outreach project engaging various local communities in the design of this enchanted space inspired by the Gardens’ architecture.
For another spectacular outdoor event space in London there's the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park which currently has Pericles re-imagined for everyone aged six which looks amazing for those who have children of that age. Otherwise for adults there's other theatre productions and music such as I am Kloot.
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| image courtsey of http://openairtheatre.org/ |
There's so much to enjoy and celebrate in London and so many reasons why I can't leave this city - it's such a love affair!
Enjoy your weekend whether you're in London or beyond, and if there's any other London park event or passion you'd like to share, please do.
This is part of the Art of Living series of posts that bring you all the things we are passionate about and the things we discover in our lives as mamas.
In our Wednesday Woo blog post series we present a selection of things from the Sisters Guild Boutique.
We also have a Monday Makery with ideas for things to make yourself.
And for a glimpse behind the scenes of Sisters Guild we have the A-Z of Sisters Guild here
www.sistersguild.co.uk
That definitely one of the reasons I love living in London so much - the parks! It's less like a concrete jungle than many other cities, I think. On nice days (like today) we are at the park nearly all day!
ReplyDeleteUsed to live near Battersea and loved it. Now in NW London and have to say the Heath is my favourite! But I love them all. :)