World-renowned Royal Parks, stunning
stretches of riverside and extravagantly
planted public parks and gardens
combine to make Richmond upon
Thames the greenest and most beautiful
borough in London. In addition, it's the
only London borough to span both banks
of the Thames.
The jewel in the crown is majestic
Richmond Park, with its gently rolling
hills, ancient copses and herds of freeroaming
red and fallow deer, a landscape
which has changed little from the days of
Charles I. From selected vantage points
within this largest of the Royal Parks it
is possible to view St Paul's Cathedral,
the London Eye and other iconic central
London landmarks.
The borough boasts over 130 parks,
commons and woodlands which attract
5 million visitors each year. The Council's
'Park Service continues to upgrade
our open spaces and play areas with
new equipment, park infrastructure and
sustainable planting schemes.
A brand new playground was installed
at Suffolk Road Recreation Ground
in the Spring of this year, making it
the 62nd playground in the borough.
Some users had described it as the
'best playground in the borough'. The
playground aims at both young and
older children, with a sand pit that
incorporates a number of play features
within the pit, and a larger climbing frame
and swings for older children to use.
The Parks Team also recently upgraded
the outdoor gym at Heathfield Recreation
Ground, providing a mixture of new
equipment that aimed at both of those
suffer from mobility problems, and able
bodied users, a first in the borough and
part of a wider project to make a
number of our parks and open spaces
accessible to all.
The Terrace Gardens and Gothic
Gardens in Richmond, York House and
Radnor Gardens in Twickenham, and
Carlisle Park and Hatherop in Hampton
are especially popular with visitors where
those looking for a more relaxed rural feel
can explore East Sheen Common Woods,
Ham Common or visit "Barney" in Barn
Elms. This huge London Plane has a girth
of 8.2m making it one of the largest in
London dating back to 1660s when the
Oriental and American Plane first came
into existence.
The Diamond Jubilee Gardens on
Twickenham Embankment is a popular
site for community events and open
cinemas whilst Champions Wharf features
Alexander Pope's Urn with his poetry
inscribed in the surrounding wooden
seating, and let's not forget the play beach
with its Viking boat and historic river taxi.
Visitors can discover rare trees, and many
different types of flora fauna in our many
sites that are designed for conservation
management. Just remember to bring the
fine weather with you!
great outdoors
Richmond Park
that 2020 is the
20th anniversary of
WWT London Wetland
Centre in Barnes?
Did you know
Stephen Darlington
--- 10 - visitrichmond.co.uk