Hyde Park is the famous Royal Park, which is located in the heart of the British capital. It spreads over a vast territory, almost one and a half square kilometers, and this is one of the largest and most interesting park areas of the capital.
The history of this park is quite interesting. What is Hyde Park now? Just a beautiful park. And until the 16th century, these were the land possessions of the famous Westminster Abbey. Only in the reign of Henry VIII, this property was taken from the church and turned into the possession of the crown. There they organized hunting grounds for the king. However, quite soon, after only a few decades, the park was opened to all comers. Hyde Park was named after the ancient unit of measure with which the area was measured.
What is Hyde Park? The main place of all the attractions is a huge lake called Serpentine, named so because of its bizarre outlines. This artificial narrow lake stretched across the entire park. On it, visitors can ride catamarans and boats if desired. You can swim in the lake. The swimming season ends in mid-September.
Tourists, asking what Hyde Park is, learn that in addition to natural beauties, you can also see unique objects of cultural and historical value there. One of them is a ship fully powered by solar energy. It holds up to forty passengers. There is also an art gallery in the park, which opened in 1970. This is the famous Serpentine Gallery, which stores unique art exhibits of 20-21 centuries.
But perhaps the main attraction, which most often comes to mind when thinking about what Hyde Park is, is the unique Tribune of Speakers. This place has existed since the end of the 19th century, a kind of corner, giving speakers the opportunity to express their thoughts. You can speak there completely freely, touching on any political issues and topics, without being afraid of any repression.
This interesting park is also notable for the fact that at the beginning of the 19th century, or rather in 1815, a historical parade was organized here in honor of the victory of the Duke of Wellington over the French emperor. In honor of this event, a Wellington Museum and Arch was erected in the park, and eight years later, a statue of Achilles, made by sculptor Sir Richard Westmacott, was also erected. I must say that this is the very first image of nudity in the capital of Great Britain. As soon as the townspeople saw him, even a bronze fig leaf did not help: a real storm of indignation arose.
It was in Hyde Park that Queen Victoria ordered the first ever World Exhibition to take place in 1851. For her, a unique palace was built - Khrustalny, unfortunately, not preserved. In the same park there is another interesting place - a pet cemetery, arranged by the Duke of Cambridge for his beloved deceased animal spouse. This is about three hundred gravestones. This attraction opens to visitors only once a year.
Hyde Park also made special paths for pedestrians as well as for cyclists with scooters. Here you can walk on the grass, walk, play volleyball, soccer, ride a horse, play tennis and even bowling, have picnics. This park is very beautiful, cozy and well maintained.