London Parks

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22507, 15 September 1938, Page 4 (Supplement)

London Parks

London I* not all shops and roads with large buses and cars roaring past. There are some lovely big parks right in the midst of the city. The four that I know best were St James’. Green Park. Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens. St. James’ Park was the one we went to most for it was quite, near where we were staying. It, was very near Buckingham Palace, and we, often; saw the Changing of the Guard when we were going for a walk. All the way round there were high iron bar fences.

In the middle of this park there was a large lake where there were crowds of ducks. In the spring when the mother ducks had babies we saw ■ whole families of fluffy ducks floating in the water with a very proud mother teaching them to swim. One , family of ducks were black and had a little wisp of hair on their heads. These ducks were very good divers, and you could- see them swimming under the water for quite a long time. There were all sorts .-of ducks. Some

(By Margaret Hall)

were wild, and others wodld come up the banks and walk over the path for crumbs. There was one water-hen there, building a nest in a tree, and each time we went to the park we would watch it bring sticks'and grass and climb up the tree to its home. One day it took a long twig up the bank, but couldn’t get it up the tree because it got caught in the leaves. It was ages before it would stop trying to get it up, but in the end it did. At the other end of the park there were three pelicans, and it was

great fun to watch them waddling up and down. Nearly all the year round there were flowers in the large wide beds, and the grass was always - green. Each season found different flowers in the beds. Once it was delphiniums and next lupins, tulips and iris, etc.; but always in all the beds there were some gay coloured flowers.

The paths were bordered with iron bars about a foot high. Along the side of these paths were scats and deck-chairs. The birds often

sat on these bars, and there were always pigeons on the path. Green Park was just over the road from St. James’ Park, and it was about the same size. This park hadn’t got a lake or many flowers. There were more trees and grass. People were allowed to walk on the grass and play games. At the top Of Green Park was Piccadilly, and an endless stream of taxis and buses were always plying back and forth.

Hyde Park was where the horses were, and sometimes we would watch them as they trotted past along P.otten Row. In this, park there was another big lake where people hired boats. There were lots of lovely flowers and trees in this park, and in a special en-

closure there was a rabbit warren. It was rather strange to see the little wild rabbits running in among the bushes quite at home in the middle of London. Next door to Hyde Park was Kensington Gardens (the park for children). In this park was yet another lake, where the children sailed their yachts. Peter Pan’s statue was there, and the Broad Walk that we read about in the books about Peter Pan. All these parks are right in the middle of London.