Parks and open spaces in London
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London is well endowed with open spaces. The eight Royal Parks of London, covering over 5,000 acres of land,[1] are former royal hunting grounds which are now open to the public. Four of these — Green Park, St. James's Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens — form a green strand through the western side of the city centre, whilst a fifth, Regent's Park is just to the north. Many of the smaller green spaces in central London are garden squares which were built for the private use of the residents of the fashionable districts, but in some cases are now open to the public.
The remaining (and largest) three Royal Parks are in the suburbs — Greenwich Park to the south east, and Bushy Park and Richmond Park to the south west. In addition to these spaces, a large number of council-owned parks were developed between the mid 19th century and the Second World War, including Victoria Park, Alexandra Park and Battersea Park. Other major open spaces in the suburbs, such as Hampstead Heath, Wimbledon Common and Epping Forest, have a more informal and semi-natural character, having originally been countryside areas protected against surrounding urbanisation. Some cemeteries provide extensive green land within the city — notably Highgate Cemetery, burial place of Karl Marx and Michael Faraday amongst others.
Completing London's array of green spaces are two paid entrance gardens — the leader is the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew, whilst the royal residence of Hampton Court Palace also has a celebrated garden.