Spring is well and truly in the air, so it’s no surprise to find that many of the cherry blossom trees, forests and formal gardens of London are in full bloom. What’s more, you’ll see longer and warmer days during your stay at the Park Avenue Inn Bayswater Inn Hotel, meaning that there’s even more of a reason to go out and enjoy the city’s many green spaces.
It’s worth mentioning that as a designated “green city”, London is home to more than 16% public green space, which is surprising given the urban centre of skyscrapers and office blocks. But hidden throughout the city are some of the most magical and vibrant green spaces in Europe. Not only are there classic formal gardens situated across the city’s many parks, but rewilding efforts too that transform the way that parks and nature reserves interact with nature. So make sure to get your Park Avenue Hotel breakfast in before heading out, there’s a whole world to explore for the green-fingered London tourist.
Chelsea Physic Garden
Dating back all the way back to 1673, the Chelsea Physic Garden is a four acre botanical garden that numbers among the oldest in the country. Established by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, a closely guarded organisation studying medicinal plants, the gardens are easy to reach for guests of hotels near Madame Tussauds in West London and within its high, heat trapping walls, holds many stunning trees and plants. These include the northernmost grapefruit tree in the world, made possible by the high walls, as well as more than 5000 medicinal, pharmaceutical, edible and woodland garden plant species.
St-Dunstan’s-In-The-East
This secret garden situated between Tower Bridge and London Bridge is a welcome respite for commuters on their lunch break and guests of London discount hotels exploring the historic City of London area. Built within the ruins of an 11th century church that was once renovated by famous architect Sir Chrostopher Wren in the late 17th century, St-Dunstan’s-In-The-East on St Dunstan’s Hill is one of the best examples of London’s garden ingenuity.
Damaged during the Great Fire of London of 1666, the garden was repaired but finally destroyed during the London Blitz during World War 2. In the late 60s, the ruins were redeveloped into a beautiful garden, retaining the outer walls of St Dunstan’s church. Now visitors will find prime flower beds, lawns and crawling ivy lighting up this intimate space and creating an oasis of tranquillity from the busy city around it.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew is one of the best examples of English heritage gardens in the south of England, and was once the home of a Thames-side palace known as Kew Palace. Indeed, the grounds of Kew Gardens have a history of courtiers and royalty building houses upon it as far back as the 16th century, when Mary Tudor lived within what was once “Kew Fields”. The gardens themselves, now a stunning 300 acres, did not develop until the 18th century though, with the “exotic gardens” of Kew Park becoming popular hangout spots for the upper classes. Eventually, the park at Kew became a botanical garden in the 1840s and is now home to dozens of conservatories and over 8 and a half million plant and fungal specimens, either on display or preserved for study by botanists.
