About Alexandra Park

Alexandra Park is a 109 acre landscaped park in the outskirts of central London. It is not one of the Royal Parks but it is the site of Alexandra Palace which is now a conference and exhibition center. The hilly park affords sprawling views of London, and has wooded valleys and is part of Hastings a south eastern suburb.

The park was at first designed by Robert Marnock, a renowned landscaper. It was opened to the public in 1882 by Princess Alexandra. In 1900 parliament passed an Act that formed the Alexandra Palace and Park Trust that maintains the park and provides recreation for the public for free.

The park is used for a lot of recreational purposes ranging from football and Cricket and other sporting facilities for the community, however it is most famous for horse racing. Till the 1970's it hosted horse races and other social events. The racecourse at the park which is shaped like a “Frying Pan”, held the prestigious London Cup as well. Now the cricket and football facilities are located on the old racecourse. The Park also hosts other entertainment facilities such as a boating lake, Bowling Green for croquet, War memorial and a Park Rangers office.

This is in particular important because the park as a diverse wildlife, at its local nature reserve. It mainly caters to birds. Kingfishers and other all-seasonal birds such as wagtails breed through-out the year at the park. Due to coastal proximity many migrant birds that are not seen inland can be witnessed, such as the Night Heron and different migratory species of buzzards, ducks and albatrosses. Bats are also common during summer evenings. It is also a breeding ground for Demoiselle's which are large green and blue damselfly's. In terms of flora the parks grassy banks are lined with Wild Orchids, yet the park is best known for its Toothwort population of over 500 plants.

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