Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens: Saturday marked our first full day in London and, after getting breakfast at the hotel, Peep and I headed out on foot to see the sites within Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, both part of the Royal Parks of London. I had printed out a self-guided walking tour of the area before leaving Laos, which we used to ensure we hit all the highlights. Hyde Park was opened to the public in 1637 by Charles I after serving as a private hunting ground for over 100 years. In 1728, Kensington Gardens was carved out of the western half of Hyde Park to serve as the private gardens of Kensington Palace, which sits at the westernmost edge of the gardens, but is open to the public today.
Kensington Gardens & Kensington Palace: We first toured Kensington Gardens, stopping at the Italian Garden, the Peter Pan Statue, located where J. M. Barrie stated Peter Pan landed in his novel "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens", the Physical Energy Statue, then past the Round Pond and onto Kensington Palace, the former residence of Princess Diana and birthplace of Queen Victoria. It has been used as a royal residence since 1689, when it was purchased by William and Mary.
Albert Memorial & Royal Albert Hall: On the southern edge of Kensington Gardens sits the Albert Memorial. The memorial features a statue of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, surrounded by statues of his many interests, including ones to represent Europe, Asia, Africa and America at each of its corners. Just outside the gardens directly across the street from the Albert Memorial sits the Royal Albert Hall, a performing arts hall opened in 1871 by Queen Victoria in honor of Prince Albert.
Serpentine Gallery: Continuing through the park, our last stop in Kensington Gardens was at the Serpentine Gallery. We did not enter the gallery, but did take time to explore the temporary pavilion located out front, designed by artist Sou Fujimoto. The pavilion is replaced yearly by a new one from a different artist.
Hyde Park: Crossing the street, our first stop in Hyde Park was at the Princess Diana Memorial. The water in this fountain flows down in troughs in two directions, meeting again at the bottom to form a complete loop. Visitors are encourage to take off their shoes and splash their feet in the waters. Continuing along the Princess Diana Memorial Walkway, we got great views of The Serpentine, an artificial lake used for recreation, including row boating, paddle boating, and open-water swimming. Once past the lake, we continued through a rose garden before reaching the Grand Entrance, where we exited the park.
Hyde Park Corner: Located just outside Hyde Park is Hyde Park Corner. Overlooking the corner is Apsley House, also known as Number One London, the house where the Duke of Wellington lived following his victory over Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. In the corner itself is Wellington Arch, originally built as the main entrance to Hyde Park before being moved a short distance to Hyde Park Corner. Atop the arch sits the largest bronze statue in Europe - the angel of peace riding a chariot of war. Also within Hyde Park Corner is Wellington Monument, the Machine Gun Corps Memorial, the Royal Artillery Memorial, the Australian War Memorial and the New Zealand War Memorial. As we were entering Hyde Park Corner, a contingent of the Horse Guards just happened to be passing by.
Green Park & Constitution Hill: Across the street from Hyde Park Corner is yet another Royal Park, Green Park. Located just inside this park is the RAF Bomber Command Memorial, opened in 2012 to commemorate not only the Royal Air Force bomber crews, but all allied bomber crews who flew missions during WWII. After viewing the memorial, Peep and I continued our journey by heading down Constitution Hill, a street connecting Buckingham Palace with Hyde Park. The road surface has been colored red to imitate a giant red carpet along the route.
Buckingham Palace: Upon reaching the end of Constitution Hill, we turned the corner and entered Queen's Garden, located directly in front of Buckingham Palace. Starting off as a townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1705, Buckingham Palace was acquired by King George III in 1761 and enlarged before becoming the official royal palace of Queen Victoria in 1837. The structure visible today is the result of the most recent enlargements, completed in the early twentieth century, and is the current residence of Queen Elizabeth II. However, during our time in London the queen was at her summer residence in the Scottish Highlands, Balmoral Castle.
Victoria Memorial: Standing in the middle of Queen's Garden is the Victoria Memorial with its fountains and sculptures, mostly following a nautical theme, representing Britain's naval dominance during Queen Victoria's reign. Throughout the Victorian Era the British Empire greatly expanded its territorial holdings, eventually becoming the largest empire in history.
Along the far side of the palace, opposite Constitution Hill, is the Queen's Gallery, where royal artworks are on public display, and the Royal Mews, where the royal carriages and transport vehicles are kept and maintained.
The Mall & St. James's Park: We next headed away from Buckingham Palace along The Mall, the main, tree-lined road leading to the palace. Like Constitution Hill, the surface of The Mall is colored red to mimic a red carpet. Halfway down the road we came to Clarence House, another royal residence, which was not allowing in any more visitors at the time of our arrival, and, nearby, St. James's Palace, which is permanently closed to the public. From there, we crossed over The Mall and entered St. James's Park, another vast greenspace within London and the first of the Royal Parks, created by Henry VIII in 1532. Having been on our feet for over five hours, we took a breather while watching the waterfowl by the edge of the small lake within the park.
Evenings Activities: After the completion of the walking tour I had printed before travelling to London, Peep and I continued to explore Central London, seeing many of the sites we would visit a couple of days later. We stopped for dinner before heading to a downtown hotel, the Corinthia, to meet up with her brother Paap, who had spent the day resting in our hotel and seeing Kensington Gardens on his own. The Corintia was the location of the business dinner the two of them had to attend. While they were at dinner, I spent the rest of the evening retracing my steps up to the Albert Memorial, where I was locked out of the park as it was closing. I made the long way around the park, arriving at the hotel entrance just as Paap and Peep were returning from their meeting.