DK Travel : London : Outdoor

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Battersea Park

This lively park is not just for children. It has a pleasant riverside promenade beside a Buddhist Peace Pagoda, lakeside walks and the Festival Gardens.
Blackheath

This treeless expanse, enjoyed by kite flyers, lies behind Greenwich Park. Donkey rides can be taken around the edge, and on the far side is Blackheath Village.
Bunhill Fields

In a city of churchyards, Bunhill Fields is unusual in being a purpose-built graveyard. It holds the graves of several famous “dissenters” – Jonathan Swift, Daniel Defoe, John Bunyan, George Fox, William Blake—and is also a pleasantly relaxing enclave in the busy city.

Bunhill Fields sits on the northern edge of the City of London, opposite Wesley’s house and museum. Although it is not close to any of the City’s major tourist attractions (St. Paul’s, the Tower of London, the Museum of London, the Monument), its small quota of celebrity graves makes it a minor attraction in itself. It is also a pleasant, leafy, and quiet place to escape from the noise of the city.
Chelsea Physic Garden

A "secret garden" in the middle of London for a quiet wander but also informative if you want to know more about the uses of plants. Not open every day so check times.
Cleary Garden

Just up Queen Victoria Street from the Millenium footbridge linking Tate Modern and St. Paul’s Cathedral, sunken Cleary Garden is easy to miss. That would be a pity, because it is a wonderfully relaxing and quiet enclave in a particularly busy part of town.

Facing busy Queen Victoria Street, the benches on the northern side of Cleary Garden give little hint of the green terraces and vine-hung trellises just behind them. Heading down the stairs next to the benches, you come to a secluded garden of climbing roses and leafy vines. There are more benches in the shade of the vines, and a pleasant patch of south-facing lawn if you prefer to catch a bit of sun.
Cycling

Rent bikes from On Your Bike in London Bridge (020 7378 6669) and The London Bicycle Tour Company in Gabriel’s Wharf (020 7928 6838).
Finsbury Circus Gardens

Between Liverpool Street and Moorgate stations and flanked by grand stone buildings, Finsbury Circus Gardens are a relatively-large green oasis in the heart of the City of London. I like to come here occasionally for a sandwich under the trees, to feel the tube trains rumble under my feet, and to people-watch.

Finsbury Circus Gardens are the most “developed” of the City of London’s green spaces. There is a bandstand and the City of London bowling green, and the small “Pavilion” wine-bar and restaurant. Despite these attractions, I like to come here to sit on the grass with a sandwich and watch the world go by. It is always amazing to me just what a cosmopolitan place the City of London is – with people of many nationalities either lolling on the grass or strolling around the perimeter of the park. For most of the year, the bandstand is unused. During the summer a series of free lunchtime concerts take place , with the musicians sometimes competing with the noise from apparently never-ending reconstruction work on nearby buildings.

The bowling green appears to enjoy sporadic action throughout the year, although I have no idea if enthusiastic amateurs could sign up for a game on impulse.

Finsbury Circus Gardens are best visited when it is not raining – although the bandstand and the wine-bar can provide emergency shelter. It was open for a great snowball-throwing occasion in 2005, but unfortunately closed when snow made another rare appearance in London last year. In addition to the grass, there are plenty of benches to sit on. There are also plenty of nearby take-aways if you need lunch.

Finsbury Circus Gardens are open from 8am to 7pm, Monday to Friday. They are also open on weekends from April to September.
Greenwich market

Open air market near Greenwich - very nice for browsing!
Hampstead Heath

This green grandstand overlooking the city covers 8 sq km (3 sq miles) and is a rural mix of meadows, woods, lakes and ponds for both swimming and fishing. Head off in any direction, and make the Spaniards Inn or Kenwood House a stopping-off point.
Highgate Cemetery

Filled with grand tombs, many of the rich and famous, this is the best of London’s cemeteries. The living have to pay to get in, too, and the cemetery is divided into eastern and western halves, the latter visitable only with a tour.