KENSINGTON GARDENS

Description

Essentials about Kensington Gardens in brief

Kensington Gardens is one of the royal parks in London and immediately adjoins Hyde Park to the west. Mistakenly, the garden is therefore often considered part of Hyde Park, although the two parks are separated by West Carriage Drive. Together with Hyde Park, Green Park and St. James’s Park, Kensington Gardens form a green strip over four kilometers long, interrupted only by a few streets, which connects the boroughs of Westminster and Notting Hill and is the green lung of central London.

The history of Kensington Gardens

The history of Kensington Gardens goes back to Queen Caroline, who in 1728 decreed the separation of the park from Hyde Park and ordered the creation of a landscape garden including a circular pond, straight paths and a sunken garden. Therefore, as a spatial separation between the two parks, the so-called Serpentine was created, in which the river Westbourne was dammed.

The sights in Kensington Gardens

Kensington Gardens is not only popular as a recreational area, but also houses several attractions. One pavilion houses the Serpentine Gallery, which specializes in modern art. A second gallery, the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, has been located on the park grounds since 2013. Other attractions include a Peter Pan statue, the Elf Oak (a 900-year-old tree stump carved and painted to look as if elves and gnomes lived in its bark), and the Albert Memorial in memory of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. And last but not least, from Kensington Gardens, of course, you have a beautiful view of Kensington Palace, located on the eastern edge of the park.