Q: What cafés and kiosks are in the park?

Hyde Park has four main cafés - Serpentine Bar & Kitchen , Serpentine Lido Café , The Lodge Café and the Park Sports Café . There are also several smaller refreshment kiosks dotted throughout the park. View the Food and Drink section for full details of each outlet, along with their latest menus. You can find their locations on the park map .

Question 1

What are the park opening hours?

Accepted Answer

The pedestrian and vehicle gates open from 5am and close at midnight each day throughout the year. Any public notices relating to temporary closures (due to park events or maintenance, for example) can be found on the Hyde Park web page.

Question 2

What are the closest public transport links to the park?

Accepted Answer

Hyde Park is well served by a range of different public transport services:

Train
The closest mainline station is London Paddington - located approximately 500m north of West Carriage Drive. The station is served by services from GWR, Heathrow Express and TfL's Elizabeth Line.

Tube
You can travel to Hyde Park via the Central (Lancaster Gate or Marble Arch) and Piccadilly (Hyde Park Corner or Knightsbridge) underground lines. Each of these is just a few minutes walk from the park.

Bus
There are plenty of options for getting to the park by bus. Use an online planner from TfL or Google to prepare for your journey.

Cycle
Cycling to Hyde Park has never been easier. There are a wealth of marked cycleways passing through and around the park, and there are several cycle hire points around the park. Full details of both can be found on the TfL website.

Question 3

How big is the park?

Accepted Answer

Hyde Park is approximately 142 hectares (350 acres) in size - the equivalent of 12 Wembley Stadiums! The park's perimeter is approximately 3 miles long. You can view or download the park map here.

Question 4

What is the park's history?

Accepted Answer

Henry VIII acquired Hyde Park from the monks of Westminster Abbey in 1536; he and his court were often to be seen on thundering steeds in the hunt for deer. James I permitted limited access but it was Charles I who fully opened it up to the public in 1637. The Serpentine lake was added in the 1730s by Queen Caroline, wife of George II.

More information on the park's history can be found here.

Question 5

Is car parking available?

Accepted Answer

Hyde park has two public car parks, which are accessed from West Carriage Drive as shown on our park map. Vehicle gates in the park open at 5am each morning.

Disabled parking
There are disabled parking spaces in all of the locations above, as well as dedicated bays on West Carriage Drive and South Carriage Drive. Parking is free of charge for Blue Badge holders, but is subject to a 4-hour time limit.

Other car parks
There are two privately run car parks within close proximity to the park - at Speakers Corner and Park Lane. Both are maintained by Q-Park and have different charges to those maintained by The Royal Parks. Find out more here.

Question 6

Is there a charge for car parking?

Accepted Answer

Car parking in Hyde Park is chargeable from 8:30am to 6:30pm, every day of the week - including Bank Holidays.

Payment methods
The parking machines in our car parks accept both cash and cashless payments.

Tariff*
Monday to Saturday: 70p per 15 mins / £2.80 per hour / £11.20 for the maximum stay of 4 hours.
Sunday (and Bank Holidays): 50p per 15 mins / £2.00 per hour / £20.00 for the maximum stay of 10 hours.

Motorcycles
Motorcycles can be parked for free, up to the maximum stay of 4 hours.

* Tariff shown is only for Royal Parks car parks. External car parks (e.g. Q-Park Marble Arch or Park Lane) have separate charges, which can be found here.

Question 7

How do I pay or contest a car parking fine?

Accepted Answer

The Royal Parks do not process parking fines (or Excess Charge Notices - ECNs) in-house. These are managed by NSL Parking Services. You can pay your ECN online or by phone using an automated service on 0343 2082089.

Full details can be found here.

Question 8

Can I cycle in the park?

Accepted Answer

Yes, cycling is permitted within Hyde Park, but only where stated (e.g. Serpentine Road, The Broad Walk etc.). Smaller paths across the park where cycling is not allowed have clear 'no cycling' signage at ground level. Please be considerate and give space to other park users and the park's wildlife. Pedestrians have priority at all times.

You can check permitted cycleways on OpenStreetMap.

For more information view Cycling in The Royal Parks.

Question 9

Is there a charge to use the public toilets?

Accepted Answer

There is a 20p charge to use the public toilets in the parks. We have recently installed a contactless system which accepts credit/debit cards, prepaid cards and mobile wallet payments like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Cash is no longer accepted.

Question 10

What cafés and kiosks are in the park?

Accepted Answer

Hyde Park has four main cafés - Serpentine Bar & Kitchen, Serpentine Lido Café, The Lodge Café and the Park Sports Café. There are also several smaller refreshment kiosks dotted throughout the park. View the Food and Drink section for full details of each outlet, along with their latest menus.

You can find their locations on the park map.

Question 11

What sports facilities are in the park?

Accepted Answer

Hyde Park is perfect for a wide range of sports activities including horse riding, running and roller-skating, and football. At The Courts at Hyde Park you can try a selection of sports including tennis, netball, padel, lawn bowls, 5-a-side football, or take advantage of the nine-hole putting green. The Serpentine Lido is home to the Serpentine Swimming Club, and boating is also available if you prefer to be on the water rather than in it.

Discover more here.

Question 12

Do The Royal Parks have a shop?

Accepted Answer

No, The Royal Parks Shop in Hyde Park and our online shop are both now closed. Thank you for shopping with us and for supporting The Royal Parks. Your purchases helped care for these precious green spaces, and we’re truly grateful for your support.

Question 13

Do I need to keep my dog on a lead?

Accepted Answer

Generally, dogs do not need to be kept on a lead in Hyde Park but it is the owner's responsibility to keep the dog under control. However there are several exceptions to this, such as the Rose Garden and around The Serpentine lake. Other areas where dogs are not allowed are listed in our Dogs in The Royal Parks policy document.

Commercial dog walkers
Please note, that if you want to use the Royal Parks for commercial dog walking purposes, you must have a Commercial Dog Walking Licence issued by The Royal Parks charity.

Question 14

Can I feed the wildlife in the park?

Accepted Answer

No. Feeding birds and animals in the parks does more harm than good. You can learn more about why this is, and how you can help us in caring for their wellbeing here.

Question 15

How can I contact the park office?

Accepted Answer

Getting in touch with park offices is quick and easy and all enquiries are handled by our dedicated Visitor & Park Support team.

Online
Simply complete the short online enquiry form and your question(s) will be passed to the most appropriate staff member. To ensure an efficient service, please check that you have provided the following information:

Park
Subject
Your name
Your email address
Your enquiry

Telephone
You can also contact the park offices by telephone using the following numbers:

Hyde Park 0300 061 2000
Kensington Gardens 0300 061 2000
St. James's Park and The Green Park 0300 061 2350
The Regent's Park 0300 061 2300
Greenwich Park 0300 061 2380
Richmond Park 0300 061 2200
Bushy Park 0300 061 2250

Contacting the police in an emergency
For police assistance, please call 101 for non-emergencies, and 999 for emergencies. You can also report a crime online.

Question 16

Who do I contact about lost property?

Accepted Answer

To report lost property, please contact our Visitor and Park Support Team via their online contact form with the following information:

Your contact details
A description of the item
Date and time when the item was lost
Location (if known) where the item was lost

If the property has been found by staff or handed in to us we'll let you know.

Question 17

Who do I report a crime in the park to?

Accepted Answer

To report criminal activity in the park you should contact the police. For non-emergencies call 101, and for emergencies call 999. You can also report a crime online.

Question 18

Can I run personal training sessions in the park?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can use Hyde Park as a location for personal training or group fitness sessions - providing you have a current fitness training licence issued by The Royal Parks charity.

Fitness training licences are also available for The Regent's Park, Greenwich Park, The Green Park, Richmond Park and Bushy Park. They are not available for St. James's Park, Kensington Gardens, Victoria Tower Gardens or Brompton Cemetery.

To apply for a fitness training licence please read the information here and complete the online application form.

Question 19

Do I need a permit to shoot photos in the park?

Accepted Answer

If you are filming/photographing by yourself on a mobile phone or action camera for purely personal use then no you don't need a permit to film/photograph in the park. However, for all other purposes you will need to obtain a filming or photography permit from The Royal Parks charity. Full information and online application forms can be found here.

Question 20

Can I have a picnic in the park?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we welcome informal picnics in the Royal Parks. Please read our guidance document for maximum group sizes and what is and isn't permitted. Please note that barbecues are not allowed. For further information about informal picnics please click here.

If your group size is more than 100 people, this is considered a large picnic, and an event application should be submitted. Please see the 'Can I hold an event in the park?' FAQ for further information.

Question 21

Can I hold an event in the park?

Accepted Answer

Every year, we welcome hundreds of small and medium events to the Royal Parks, including walks and runs, large picnics, concerts and community sports. Applications for such events are considered by our dedicated Parks Events team. To find out more, and submit an application click here. At least six weeks’ notice is required.

Question 22

Can I use the bandstand?

Accepted Answer

We welcome the use of our park bandstands for small public events such as music festivals, dance or group fitness workshops or theatrical performances. Applications for such events are considered by our dedicated Parks Events team. To find out more, and submit an application click here. At least six weeks’ notice is required.

Question 23

Can I swim in the lake?

Accepted Answer

The majority of The Serpentine is reserved for boating and the local wildlife, and is strictly no swimming. However, there is a marked 100m open-water lido at the south-west corner of the lake which is open for public swimming during the summer. Opening hours are 10am - 6pm on weekends from mid-May, and every day between June and mid-September.

Members of the historic Serpentine Swimming Club can also access the lido between 5am and 9:30am each morning before public swimming opens.

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