Urban nature in London, what I saw on my trip

After a few months posting only answers to your questions and comments, I’m posting again to tell you a little about what I saw of urban nature in London: gardens, huge parks, green spaces in any corner, orchards… One more article about urban nature around of the world in Agrohuerto!

I hope you like it

London, the green big city

London is one of the largest cities with the most green spaces on the planet. If you have visited it, you will know that it is not necessary to walk far to come across a green area… they are everywhere!

There are some very large parks, the best known and most visited by tourists due to their location, such as Green Park and St. James Park (which surround Buckingham Palace), Hyde Park (in the center of the city and very close to the two previous ones, is where the famous Winter Wonderland is installed, the great London Christmas market), Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill (near Camden), Holland Park…

But if you think that this is it when it comes to green space in London you are very wrong… there are many more huge but lesser known parks in London, as well as dozens of smaller parks and gardens in every neighbourhood.

Richmond Park, to the southwest of the city, is the largest urban park in Europe and is known above all for its herds of deer and fallow deer – there are more than 600 specimens that live freely in this park, which is also a national nature reserve.

Others like Hampstead Heath, Greenwich Park, London Fields, Kennington Park, Victoria Park, Wormwood Scrubs, Battersea Park, Queen’s Park, and a long etcetera make this city one of the greenest cities in the world and offer us the possibility of enjoy picnics, barbecues, wonderful sunsets, team sports and outdoor games, bike rides…

As you can imagine, such a large number of green spaces throughout the city also brings with it wildlife. We can find dozens of squirrels if we just take a small look in any of its parks or gardens, peacocks, swans, ducks and other birds around the lakes and ponds, we can even see foxes walking freely down any street in the city pedestrian… amazing!

So that you can see that it is true, here I leave you photos that I took in some of the most well-known parks in London (well… the one with the fox walking in front of the house of the British Prime Minister is not mine. Although I saw foxes many nights, they are not easy to to photograph).

More urban nature in London

But in London there are not only large parks and forests, we can find nature in every corner, in every square, at every door, in the patios of private houses or in public spaces such as libraries, shopping centers or schools. Even… in cemeteries! Yes, I said cemeteries, the » Magnificent Seven « are seven cemeteries built in the 19th century which, due to their beauty and charm, are visited by many of the tourists and onlookers who pass through London. Its gardens and forests are maintained with the same care and dedication as any other green leisure space in the city.

Small gardens with shrubs, flowers or herbs, urban gardens, community gardens, vertical gardens … I saw a lot of types of agriculture and urban nature in London.

One of the days I took the camera out for a walk, I left the house (in Queen’s Park) and headed towards Shepherd Bush. Covering just over a km around, I found a lot of green areas, parks and orchards. I can show you, first of all, one of my favorite places in the area where I lived, the garden of the Kilburn Library.

More things… these small gardens in front of some houses that I was finding:

Or also this garden at the St. Charles Health and Wellbeing Center hospital:

Finally, at the end of my walk, I arrived at Westfield Mall, where my camera battery died and I thought my urban farming session was over. But London never ceases to amaze you… and it always has something of nature to show you anywhere… There, on one of the terraces of the shopping center, I found this vertical garden (the photo was taken with a mobile phone, so the quality is not magnificent, but I hope you like it):

Well… the truth is that I think it is better to leave the rest for another day, since I still have many things in the pipeline about everything I saw: urban gardens in London, community gardens, the Open Garden Squares Weekend, initiatives and social organizations related to Urban Agriculture …

I’ll leave it for future posts, I hope you liked this one! Do not forget to rate, comment, and, if you want to publicize orchards or nature experiences in your cities, you can tell us about it by leaving a comment and we will publish a post telling it all!