Hyde Park

What makes it special

The Serpentine is the lake at the heart of the park, and most of what you come for sits on or beside it. Look for the heron under the Serpentine Bridge.

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain is an oval stream, not a jet. It is built from 545 pieces of Cornish granite, each cut by machine and fitted by hand. Water leaves the highest point in two directions and swirls round the oval until both streams meet in a calm pool at the bottom.

Speakers' Corner is the north-east edge of the park, by Marble Arch and Oxford Street. An act of parliament set this ground aside for public speaking in 1872, and anyone who turns up may still use it.

Rotten Row is the riding track through the park, and the rose garden lies beside it, near Hyde Park Corner.

Visiting

There are two kinds of boat at the Boathouse, rowing boats and pedalos. Pay, then take the next one free. The boat carries you about as far as the Serpentine Bridge and back.

Back on land, walk to the Diana memorial fountain if it is running, and cross one of its three bridges into the middle of the oval. From the fountain, walk east to the rose garden near Hyde Park Corner.

On a Sunday, end instead at Speakers' Corner by Marble Arch and listen to whoever has turned up to speak.

Tips

The Lido runs in summer only, at weekends from mid-May and daily from June to mid-September, so book ahead. Under-16s need a competent swimmer aged 18 or over with them.

Public toilets in the park are paid and take contactless only. The Boathouse has none, so use one before you go out on the water. Cycle only on Serpentine Road and the Broad Walk.

Hyde Park's gates open at 5am and shut at midnight every day. No guide is needed, and the Royal Parks map marks a self-guided walk.