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 Hyde Park |
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Hyde Park is one of several royal parks in London connected together, in particular, with Kensington Gardens, Green Park and St. James Park . Hyde Park is one of London 's finest landscapes and covers more than 360 acres (142 hectares) and hosts many large events, including celebrations and concerts. It also provides facilities for many different leisure activities and sports as well, one of which is it is known for jogging, swimming, rowing, picnicking and even horse riding. What s more, other light activities in Hyde Park include rollerblading, rowing, wildlife watching, horse riding, eating out, and enjoying the playgrounds.
In 1536 King Henry VIII acquired Hyde Park from the monks of Westminster Abbey. It was used primarily for hunting. King Charles I created the ring (separating Hyde Park from Kensington Gardens at the north side) and opened the park to the public in 1637.
The park is home to the Serpentine , a curved lake in the Park, used for boating along with an outdoor swimming pool as well. Some hardy swimmers used the Serpentine in the winter as well as during the summer. It is an artificial lake that separates the Hyde Park from neighboring Kensington Gardens where the lake is called the Long Water. Queen Caroline, wife of King George II had the lake constructed in 1730. It is popular for boating and swimming.
Just outside Hyde Park , at the north east corner of the Park, which is at the end of Oxford Street , is the Marble Arch . The arch was built as a gateway to Buckingham Palace in 1827, but was moved to its present position in 1851. It was then too narrow for the state coach that s why it was moved to its present Wellington Arch location in 1851. The design by John Nash was based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome. To date, gates now close the arch itself as only royal vehicles are allowed to pass through it. At the junction of Edgware Road and Bayswater Road just outside the Park is a triangular plaque, where public executions took place until 1783.
Another arch, the Wellington Arch , can be found at the Hyde Park corner, which is a very busy junction. Wellington Arch has a war memorial statue on top of it. It was built in 1826 by Decimus Burton from whence a statue of the Duke of Wellington was added later, in 1846. The statue was replaced by the Quadriga of War in 1912. Visitors are welcome at Wellington Arch and viewing galleries and exhibitions have been created inside the Arch for these purposes.
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