When is a park not a park?



Kew Gardens (architecture.com)

When it is a garden, a heath, a common, or any of the wide range of British vocabulary for tracts of land provided for us to enjoy.  London is full of open spaces, places where you can enjoy a breath of fresh air, a moment of quiet and a picnic on a beautiful day.  Some even offer summer concerts, where you can pass the evening with friends, uncork a bottle of wine and enjoy all the beauty that London can offer. 

So what do these different words for open space mean?  Let's take a look, one by one (be sure to check out the embedded links!): 

First, there are many gardens in London.  A garden can be one's own back or front yard, or it can designate a cultivated plot of land which is open to the public.  A great example just outside the city is the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, located in Richmond-on-Thames, just southwest of London, in the county of Surrey.  It is easily reached via the London Underground (Kew Gardens Station), and is well worth the time and effort it takes to visit.  Kew contains 6 glass houses, a treetop walkway and 300 acres of plantings and displays. 

If Kew seems a bit too large for your time or taste, then perhaps the Chelsea Physic Garden would be more to your liking.  Located on a quiet residential street in the heart of London's Chelsea district,  this garden is the oldest botanical garden in London, and dates from 1673.  In keeping with its origins as a garden for apothecaries, this beautiful plot holds up to 5,000 varieties of edible, medicinal, useful and historical plants.

Chelsea Physic Garden (www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk)



The spaces I most enjoy here in London are much less manicured than these two gems.  They are the heaths, which are beautiful, open tracts of land, which rarely see a mower, a rake or gardener, except to clear dangling, dangerous branches and fallen trees.  These are the heaths, and Hampstead heath is a huge breath of fresh air after a week of running around on pavement.  The heath provides you with the chance to get your feet wet, muddy even, and to feel free of city life.  Check out this video, which provides a sample of Hampstead Heath, which is beautiful in all seasons.


Hampstead Heath (londontown.com)


The Blackheath Common is the last of the open spaces on our list.  A "common" is a typical bit of land that is left open for community use in a town or village.  Although it is often centrally located and often has the town church at one end, the one in Blackheath, London, is actually located a bit away from the town center.  It is, however, still in use as a common, being the location for the annual Blackheath fireworks display and fair.

So, on your next visit to London, do spend some time in a park, heath or common.  You will see the city from another perspective, one which will help you to see it as its residents do!

Blackheath Common (visitlondon.com)