Last autumn, I walked through Green Park every morning.
Green Park is pretty central but you could walk all around the outside of it without knowing that taking the diagonal path from the Underground Station is the shortest distance between a delightfully beautiful afternoon tea and the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
This long list of ICONIC LONDON THINGS are all within a 10-15 minute walk from this park:
Buckingham Palace
Hyde Park Corner
Piccadilly Circus
Hatchard's Book Shop
Fortnum and Mason
Chinatown
West End theatres
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Abbey
Big Ben
St James Park
Trafalgar Square
Also, Hard Rock Cafe which is right by the Ritz
But I don't know why you need to see Hard Rock Cafe here when you could go to the Churchill War Rooms!
So I'm saying it's a good place to know if you want to orient yourself in London.
My favorite tall tale about how Green Park got its name has to be this:
In 1746 Upper St James' Park was officially renamed Green Park. The exact reason for the name is unknown. It may be because, at the time, the park was an open meadow with few trees. Or it may date back to a tale about King Charles II and his wife. Apparently, she discovered that Charles had picked flowers in the park and given them to another woman. In revenge, the Queen ordered that every single flower in the park should be pulled up and no more planted. True or not, there are still no formal flowerbeds in the Green Park.
In 1746 Upper St James' Park was officially renamed Green Park. The exact reason for the name is unknown. It may be because, at the time, the park was an open meadow with few trees. Or it may date back to a tale about King Charles II and his wife. Apparently, she discovered that Charles had picked flowers in the park and given them to another woman. In revenge, the Queen ordered that every single flower in the park should be pulled up and no more planted. True or not, there are still no formal flowerbeds in the Green Park.
In the 1820s John Nash re-landscaped the park and trees were planted for the first time. Eventually a small reservoir called the Queen's basin was filled in and buildings were demolished.
If I got to this crosswalk at exactly the right moment, I get to watch this casual bit of London tradition.
My office was just on the other side of Buckingham Palace.
My office was just on the other side of Buckingham Palace.
London winter means going home in the dark.
This was the dark of 6pm. The first time I walked in the park in the dark, I was terrified. I have not outgrown my childhood fear of the dark so this park feels 3 times longer to walk through at night than it does in the morning.
Spring brings comfort in the form of longer days. Now the sun is setting closer to 9pm. It's GREAT.
This was the dark of 6pm. The first time I walked in the park in the dark, I was terrified. I have not outgrown my childhood fear of the dark so this park feels 3 times longer to walk through at night than it does in the morning.
Spring brings comfort in the form of longer days. Now the sun is setting closer to 9pm. It's GREAT.
