Welcome to The Green Park

The smallest Royal Park – and the best kept secret

Whatever you need to take a break from – whether it’s sightseeing, or the four walls of your office, The Green Park is the perfect place to do it.

Today, London’s The Green Park is one of the most peaceful of all the Royal Parks but in the 18th century it was the scene of royal firework spectaculars and crowd-pleasing festivals. Discover the hidden history of the The Green Park.  

It’s the smallest Royal Park, and quite possibly the greenest – you’ll notice that there are no flower beds in The Green Park. This is another clue to the park’s colourful history – and it’s a tale of royal revenge. Queen Catherine, wife of King Charles II, was outraged that her husband had dared to present a bunch of flowers to another woman. She ordered that every flower in the park be pulled up – and no more planted. 

Today The Green Park is home to flowering meadows, and a popular place to visit in the spring, when around one million daffodils suddenly transform the green lawns.

A place to remember – the statues and memorials of The Green Park

The Bomber Command Memorial, the Canada Memorial and the Memorial Gates all have a special, human significance. They’re each dedicated to men and women who lost their lives in the two World Wars. Over 55,000 Bomber Command pilots and officers, one million Canadians and over five million Indian, African and Caribbean troops are commemorated in this peaceful green setting. Canada Gate, the ornate gilded iron gates that opens to the flower beds of Buckingham Palace, was a dedication to Queen Victoria from the people of Canada.

Take a break and gaze on green

Taking time out in a natural green setting is said to make us calmer, more focused, and more creative. The wide, tree-lined paths and avenues of The Green Park are a favourite space for many Londoners who work close by to take a lunchtime stroll, or sunbathe, particularly in the summertime. If you’re making an afternoon of it, feel free to hire a deckchair.

In August, The Green Park feels like the countryside – in the past we’ve even welcomed sheep to graze the meadow during Sheep Week! This was once a regular sight in the park, right up until the 1940s.

You’re more than welcome to picnic here, as you enjoy the quiet. We just ask that you respect the surroundings and the wildlife and take your litter home or pop it in our bins. If you’re thirsty, the Watering Holes Fountain has fresh water at three different heights, so everyone can easily have a drink – including your dog. 

Big events at the smallest Royal Park

Occasionally, the quiet of The Green Park is interrupted by the sound of gunfire. The Royal Gun Salutes that mark important royal occasions take place here, and in Hyde Park. A salute taking place in a Royal Park automatically means 41 shots are fired, instead of 20.

The Green Park is also one of the backdrops to the London Marathon and Royal Parks Half Marathon. If you’re thinking of taking part, we’d be very grateful if you’d run on our behalf. As a charity, we rely on kind people like you to help us care for the Royal Parks.

Nature and wildlife in The Green Park

Gatekeeper butterflies, dancing in Coronation Meadow. Hawthorn and blackthorn blossom in spring. Pipistrelle bats insect-hunting at dusk. Black poplars and silver limes.  

All in the heart of a capital city.

The Green Park – a haven for wildlife, and wellbeing

The Green Park has a character all of its own. Its peaceful, rolling green grassland, dominated by many mature, veteran London plane trees , purposely lacks ornamental flower beds and gardens, unlike the other Royal Parks.  

Instead, the trees and copses take centre stage – from lofty London plane trees to the rarer silver limes and black poplar. Look up into the plane tree canopy, at the southern end of Broad Walk, and you’ll see bat boxes for the pipistrelle and soprano pipistrelle bats to nest in. The bats are a common twilight sight for the many Londoners walking home through The Green Park after work. 

Hawthorns, hedgerows and holly

The blackthorn and hawthorn copses in the north of The Green Park, and the native scrub and holly hedgerows in Turner’s Copse and along the Queen’s Walk, are incredibly valuable wildlife habitats. Holly is the main food source for the holly blue caterpillar, and the berries are vital in winter for all the smaller birds, including the robins, wrens and blue tits. And the sight of our blackthorn and hawthorn bursting into blossom is always a welcome sight after a long winter. 

The shady woodland in the east of the park is traversed by many birds and small mammals as well as invertebrates such as beetles, bugs and spiders that play a crucial role in the park’s ecosystem. 

Biodiversity in action – the Coronation Meadow 

Meadows are extraordinarily rich ecosystems. Once a familiar sight throughout the English countryside, our historic meadowlands are declining. In 2013, King Charles III, The then Prince of Wales, called for every county to create a wildflower meadow – and we took up the conservation challenge. 

Our Coronation Meadow was created using ancient seeds, sourced from the West Sussex Coronation meadow which has a similar soil profile to the park. Yellow rattle – a vital ‘starter seed’ for wildflower meadows – was  collected in Hyde Park by local schoolchildren. Take a moment to enjoy the flourishing wildflowers, butterflies and birds of the meadow – alive in summertime with meadow brown and comma butterflies, bumble bees, and sun loving oxeye daisies.

Wildlife and parklife – a delicate balancing act 

The Royal Parks are unique urban parklands, where people and wildlife can exist side by side. Our responsibility as The Royal Parks charity is to balance the best interests of the people, animals, birds, plants and planet for future generations.

Eating and drinking in The Green Park

Drop by our stylish kiosks for a cappuccino and pastry, or pick up a picnic and find a shady spot to enjoy outdoor eating and drinking in the park right next to Buckingham Palace.

Convenient kiosks in The Green Park

Because there’s so much wonderful space and wildlife to enjoy here, we’ve located two refreshment kiosks at the most convenient entry points in the park – Ritz Corner and Canada Gate. Their stylish, curved wooden roofs are easy to spot when you arrive, or just as you’re leaving. 

Check out the park information boards or the park map here to find the nearest kiosk to you.

Picnicking in The Green Park

The park is a great place for a picnic! A selection of freshly cut sandwiches, artisan baguettes and drinks are available in our kiosks.

Feel free to bring your own food and drink to enjoy in the park but barbecues and any sort of fire lighting is absolutely forbidden.

Please take your litter home with you or place it in one of our bins on the way out – wildlife and litter don’t mix.

Every purchase helps us care for The Green Park

Wherever you choose to stop for a bit of refreshment, you’ll be helping to protect and conserve The Green Park for everyone to enjoy.

Leisure activities and attractions in The Green Park

A peaceful, green oasis right in the heart of London. Take a stroll or grab a deckchair, next to Buckingham Palace in the shade of ancient trees.

Making the most of The Green Park

The Green Park is the smallest of the Royal Parks – a 40 acre oasis of mature trees and parkland, sitting neatly between Hyde Park and St. James’s Park. Although it’s thronged with thousands of runners twice a year, when the London Marathon and Royal Parks Half Marathon pass through, the park is one of the most tranquil spots in the city centre.

This is a park to explore at your own pace. If you’re keen to enjoy team sports and organised activities, head over in Hyde Park, where you can book a game of tennis or padel, have an open air swim, or take a boat out. There are excellent sports facilities on the south side of the park.

Walking, running and cycling in The Green Park

You’ve got the option of many different walking trails and pathways or running routes to choose from. Many regular runners and joggers use the park as an alternative commuting route to work – a great way to de-stress and stay fit. Discover the history of the landscape with a self-guided walk or, if you’re more ambitious or have more time, follow the seven mile Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, which takes in four Royal Parks, including Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace, once Princess Diana’s home.

If you’re cycling through, please do respect the walkers and the wildlife, and stay on the designated cycle paths.

Parklife and people watching – from a deckchair!

Sometimes, all you want to do is to sit in the sunshine with a friend, or by yourself, and watch the world and the wildlife go by. Our partners, ParkDeckChairs, offer deckchairs to rent by the hour or by the day. While you’re relaxing, why not pick up a tea or coffee, or an ice cream from one of our kiosks at at Ritz Corner or Canada Gate, and make an afternoon of it?

The history and architecture of The Green Park

The Green Park is one of the most tranquil of all the Royal Parks.

Its history, however, is anything but.

This is a place of crowd-pleasing revels, royal firework displays, exploding temples and highway robbery.

The ‘missing link’ in a chain of Royal Parks

The Green Park covers 40 acres, linking St James's Park and Hyde Park in a chain of Royal Parks. In 1660, King Charles II wanted to be able to walk all the way from Hyde Park to St James's Park without leaving royal soil. So, he acquired land between the two established parks, put a brick wall around it and gave The Green Park its first name: Upper St James's Park.

The Green Park and the Stuarts

The King soon fell in love with his new park, entertaining visitors with royal firework spectaculars and crowd-pleasing festivals.  

The King also commissioned one of the first ice houses in Britain here so that in summer he could give his guests cold drinks, creating one of the earliest Royal Parks kiosks. He even took his daily walk or ‘constitutional’ in the park each day, giving ‘Constitution Hill’ its name. On these walks, the King was accompanied by his pet spaniels.

But in the 1700s, much of The Green Park was still unlit and semi-rural – providing the perfect opportunity for highwaymen and robbers. Even writer Horace Walpole was held up by the infamous highwayman, James MacLaine, in The Green Park. 

The first royal Party in the Parks

The park contained two dazzling ‘showpiece temples' – The Temple of Peace, built to store the thousands of fireworks needed for performances of Handel’s famous ‘Music for the Royal Fireworks’ and the Temple of Concord, which actually revolved.

The Temples of Peace and Concord were anything but. Both were destroyed when festivities in the park got out of hand. In 1749 the Temple of Peace exploded when 10,000 fireworks went off in a matter of minutes and three people were killed. And in 1814 the Temple of Concord also burnt to the ground during the Prince Regent's gala.

The Green Park and the Georgians

In 1795 King George IV married Queen Caroline, who made her mark on the park. In the 1720s, she commissioned the ornamental Tyburn Pool and a reservoir, named the Queen’s Basin. Both became fashionable places to see and be seen.

The 1800s– creating The Mall and Wellington Arch

The Royal Park as we know it opened to the general public in 1826.

In the 1820s, John Nash re-scaped The Green Park as part of his project to landscape St. James 's Park nearby. Trees were planted for the first time and Constitution Hill was straightened to make a processional route leading onto The Mall, outside Buckingham Palace.

Horticulture in The Green Park

Sit beneath the shade of a silver lime. Meander through a sea of wildflowers. Lose yourself in 40 acres of open parkland. The Green Park – the clue is in the name.

The Green Park – an oasis in plain sight

Today, London’s The Green Park is the most peaceful of all the central Royal Parks. It’s history, however, was anything but. Originally one of Henry VIII’s many hunting grounds, The Green Park of the 18th century hosted royal firework spectaculars, duels and the odd failed ballooning attempt.

Today, whether you’re city sightseeing or on a lunch break, the undulating grasslands, shady plane trees and woodlands of The Green Park are wonderful places to recharge. Don’t be deceived, however – the ‘naturalness’ of the landscape was carefully conceived by the celebrated 18th century architect, John Nash, who created the formal avenues of The Mall and Constitution Hill. 

The Green Park – why no flowers?

The Green Park is remarkable – and possibly unique – for having no formal flower beds. It’s said that Queen Catherine, wife of King Charles II, was outraged to discover that her husband had been picking flowers in the park for another woman. She ordered that every single flower in the park should be pulled up and no more planted. Today though, both The Green Park and St. James’s Park are famous for the thousands upon thousands of daffodils that bloom here each spring.

Instead, the trees have become the heroes of The Green Park landscape – from the lofty London plane trees to the rarer silver limes and black poplar.

The wilder side of The Green Park – the Coronation Meadow

One of the favourite places to visit in The Green Park, especially in spring and summer, is The Queen’s Meadow, one of the Coronation Meadows. The Queen’s Meadow was the 90th meadow to be opened as part of the meadow creation partnership between Plantlife, the Wildlife Trust and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. It commemorates the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday.

Meadows take time. So take your time to enjoy The Queen’s Meadow, and its abundance of wildflowers, from poppies and cornflowers to cranesbill and red clover. 

The eastern side of The Green Park – rolling back the centuries

The River Tyburn – one of London’s ‘lost rivers’ – once flowed through the quiet glades and woodland of The Green Park. We’re working to restore the original, almost rural atmosphere around this area; letting the grass grow long, planting more trees and creating wildlife-friendly copses.

Home to monuments of international significance

Standing proudly at the end of Constitution Hill are the Memorial Gates. They commemorate the five million men and women from the Indian Subcontinent, Africa and the Caribbean who fought alongside Britain in the two World Wars.  

On important dates like Remembrance Sunday, the flames at the top of the gates are lit. Next to the gates sits a memorial pavilion, inscribed with the names of 74 brave individuals who were awarded either the George Cross or Victoria Cross. 

On the other side of the park is the striking Bomber Command Memorial. This commemorates the 55,573 people who died while serving in the Bomber Command during the Second World war.  

To find out more about these important memorials and discover what else you can find in The Green Park, explore the links below.