About Regent's Park

Out of the London Parks Regent Park is the largest area for Sports in Central London, and many sports ranging from football to hockey are played in its vicinity. It covers an expanse of a 166 hectares of spacious grassy parkland along with a lake which fosters a range of recreational activities from sports, to leisure to flora and fauna.

Similar to most of the other London Parks it was once owned by Henry VIII for hunting purposes, later it was turned into an ornamental garden with exclusive terraced housing, and villa's in order to create a sense of the country in London.

It was initially called Marylebone Park after the Manor nearby, and was wooded with grasslands towards the slopes near primrose Hill which made it ideal for hunting. However later on it was redesigned by John Nash, Architect to the Royal family to imitate a vast palatial estate.

Today the park is home to many attractions besides its history, ranging from science, to architecture. It is the site of the London Zoo which was opened in 1828 as the worlds first zoo and conservation centre with more than 650 animal species.

It has an Open air theatre which is the only professional outdoor theatre in Britain putting on spectacular shows through Spring and Summer. It has many Eateries that concentrate on fair trade tea and coffee, local produce and organically grown fruits and vegetables, such as the Honest Sausage and the Cow and Bean Café. On Sunday afternoon free Jazz shows are held during the summer months, and the adjacent lake hires out boats for pedaling and rowing. Nearby is also the Regent Mosque which is a marked landmark in the Park

The main modern developments were created by The Royal Botanic Society which laid out the Inner Circle with lawns and a lake. Various other societies and organizations contributed to the creation of a mix of gardens, recreation and formal buildings, which exist today. After the Botanic Societies' lease expired in the 1930's the site was re-cultivated as a formal garden thence named the Queen Mary Garden. Queen Mary was the wife of King George V and the garden houses the national collection of delphiniums and over 5,000 begonia's and various types of roses.

The Parks flora and fauna however remains diverse, with a mixture of organizations, from prestigious horticulturalists to school children volunteering help to keep it so. A recent addition has been a sculpture of an 8 meter Newt, near the lake, which was constructed using earth and flowers. In other areas the garden travels from open playing fields to grasslands, woodlands and wetlands. The park is managed wisely with conservation and the preservation of bio-diversity at the forefront. Thus the park has a diverse wildlife system, and in particular is popular with bird watches. It also is a good place to view aquatic fauna such as waterfowl and fish.

Location

Tube:
Regent's Park - Bakerloo line
Great Portland Street - Hammersmith & City, Circle & Metropolitan lines
Baker Street - Hammersmith & City, Circle, Jubilee, Metropolitan & Bakerloo lines
St John's Wood - Jubilee line
Camden Town - Northern line

Bus:
2 Marylebone Station - Crystal Palace
13 Aldwych - Golders Green
18 Euston - Sudbury
27 Chalk Farm - Turnham Green
30 Marble Arch - Hackney Wick
74 Baker St Station - Roehampton
82 Victoria - North Finchley
113 Oxford Circus - Edgware
139 Waterloo - West Hampstead
189 Oxford Circus - Brent Cross Shopping Centre
274 Angel Islington - Lancaster Gate
453 Marylebone Street - Deptford Broadway
C2 Oxford Circus - Parliament Hill Fields