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 Regents Park |
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Known as the 'jewel in the crown' that covers 197 hectares , Regent's Park has a fantastic landscape and the largest outdoor sports area in London . It has a total of 487 acres including Primrose Hill . It used to be part of the Middlesex Forest , where this piece of land became a royal hunting ground. The Prince Regent , later George IV, commissioned the famous architect John Nash to create the park here in 1817 to 1828.
Surrounded by Regency buildings, it is considered today as London's most civilized park. It has two boating lakes, one for children, three playgrounds, tennis courts, bandstand music, a café and an open-air theater. All this make it a favorite spot for a lot of visitors. It is unquestionable that the highlight of Regent s Park is London Zoo. It is this huge central park that contains excellent sports facilities, a bandstand with regular concerts, and 500 acres of wide open space, perfect for relaxing. It also has a variety of water birds that can be seen on its boating lake, including herons which nest on the islands themselves. Leading north towards London Zoo is the famous Board Walk which provides a breathtaking stroll.
The Outer Circle , the main road running around the park, is over 2 miles long. It is bordered to the north by Regent's Canal, to the west and east by Palladian mansions and to the south by Nash's Park Crescent and the Marylebone Road .
Regent's Park underground is a 4 minute walk to the south east while Great Portland Street Underground is a 13 minute walk to the South East. Its Baker Street Underground is a 15 minute walk to the South West while the Warren Street Underground 18-minute walk to the South East.
Originally, John Nash s idea of the park consisted of the concept of establishing an urban idyll, with 56 villas in Classical styles, and a pleasure palace for the Prince Regent. As Prince Regent was busy with his plans for Buckingham Palace , the palace in Regent's Park was never built. Nash wanted the Regent's Canal to run through the park but was persuaded that the bad language of the bargees would offend the refined residents of the area.
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As mentioned, the Prince Regent was too busy with his plans for Buckingham Palace; in the end, only eight villas, and no palace, were constructed inside the park. It exemplifies the grandeur of the neoclassical style and the large scale on which Nash liked to work.
Cumberland Terrace , to the east of the park, was also part of the architect's plan. Dating from 1828, it is the longest and most ornate of Nash's terraces, with a central block of raised columns topped by a decorated triangular pediment. Cumberland Terrace was designed to be seen from the palace planned for the Prince Regent .
Built in 1828, Cumberland Terrace is the longest and most elaborate of John Nash's terraces around Regent's Park .
The magnificent central section, with raised Ionic columns, is surmounted by a decorated triangular pediment, rather reminiscent of Wedgewood pottery . This Classical-style building was designed to be visible from a grand palace Nash had planned for the Prince Regent , later George IV, in Regent's Park.
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