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INTRODUCTION London is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It has nice buildings and, specially, big and amazing green areas with many animals and vegetables. We are investigating these areas and the species that live in these places. These are the most important parks in London: The Royal Parks:
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Hyde Park Regent’s Park St James’s Park Green Park Greenwich Park Bushy Park Richmond park Kensington Gardens
With this project we are trying to know the most important green areas and parks in London. We would like to visit these areas when we go to London, because seeing what we have researched and studied during this course as a subject, and then in the real world would be great!
THE ROYAL PARKS Hyde Park
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Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner. The park is divided in two by the Serpentine. The Serpentine lake
Is one of London's finest historic landscapes and it covers 142 hectares (350 acres). There is something for everyone in Hyde Park. With over 4,000 trees, a lake, a meadow, horse rides and more it is easy to forget you're in the middle of London.
The speaker’s corner is an area where public speaking is allowed.
A large variety of sports are played in the park including Tennis, Netball, Athletics, Cricket, Softball, Rounders, Football, Hockey, Australian Rules Football, Rugby, Ultimate Frisbee and Running. The swim and the boat are practiced on the Serpentine Lake and the horse-ridding at the Rotten Row.
The park also have a beautiful fountain, called Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. The fountain was built with the best materials, talent and technology. It contains 545 pieces of Cornish granite - each shaped by the latest computer-controlled machinery and pieced together using traditional skills. The Memorial also symbolises Diana's quality and openness. There are three 4
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bridges where you can cross the water and go right to the heart of the fountain.
Hyde Park provides a unique habitat in the heart of London for a diverse variety of species of flora and fauna. Positive changes in management practices have gone a long way to encourage new species into the park. The creation of the meadow area gives a flavour of how Hyde Park once looked and this area has become more diverse year on year since its creation. Have a look during the summer for butterflies feeding off the native wildflowers in the meadow.
Many different species of ducks live in the Serpentine.
The park is open from 5am until midnight all year round. Getting there: Underground and bus. They don’t recommend go to Hyde Park by car because there are limited places for park the cars.
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Regent’s Park The Regent's Park is the largest grass area for sports in Central London and offers a wide variety of activities, as well as an Open Air Theatre, the London Zoo and many cafes and restaurants.
Within its 166 hectares (410 acres) Regent's Park is amazingly diverse in terms of what it has to offer visitors. One very important element of the management of the Park is a focus on the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity. 6
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Over the past twenty years, the management of the Park has concentrated on meeting both the needs of the public and those of its wildlife. The Park is particularly popular amongst bird watchers as one of the richest sites in London. As well as the beautiful gardens and historic Parkland, there is a terrific variety of wildlife, the most visible of which is the birdlife. In the park, there are also many invertebrates, mammals, fishes, etc... The Park has an open air theatre (end of May to early September), bandstands (which hold a variety of lunchtime and evening concerts), puppet shows and London Zoo. The park is open from 5am until dusk all year round. Getting there: By bus and tube. If you want to get there by your particulary car, you can, because the park has a big and economic parking.
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St James’s Park St James's Park is at the very heart of London and covers 23 hectares (58 acres). St James's is also home to the Mall, the setting for many ceremonial parades and events of national celebration. Three royal palaces skirt St James's Park. The most ancient palace is Westminster, now known as the Houses of Parliament. St James's Palace with its Tudor style still holds the title of the Court of St James despite the fact that the Monarch has lived in the third palace, Buckingham Palace since 1837.
The view of Buckingham Palace from the park
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St James's Park, the first of The Royal Parks to be opened to the public, provides habitats for a variety of different species. A short walk away from three palaces (St James's, Westminster and Buckingham Palaces) and in the heart of historical London, the Park welcomes over 5.5 million visitors every year and is one of the most visited Parks in Europe. This heavy use inevitably has an impact on the wildlife in the area, yet it can be surprising to some how much can live and grow alongside humans.
One of the key habitats in St James's Park is the lake. It is home to a wide range of birdlife (including 15 different species of waterfowl) and has nesting sites on Duck Island and West Island.
The park is open from 5am to midnight all year round. Getting there: You can go to St James’s Park by tube and bus. They don’t recommend go 9
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by your particular car, because there are no parking facilities there.
Green Park Is the smallest of the eight Royal Parks and along with St James’ it is one of the busiest. Covering 19 hectares (47 acres), the Green Park is quite different from its neighbour St James's Park. It is more peaceful, with mature trees and grassland. It is bordered by Constitution Hill, Piccadilly and Queen's Walk.
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It’s a peaceful refuge for people living, working or visiting Central London, and is particularly popular for sunbathing and picnics in fine weather.
Trees in Green Park are of great benefit to the surrounding area; they provide a cooler microclimate in hot summers, and they also improve air quality by absorbing vehicle fumes and filtering out harmful pollutants. A number of more unusual trees can also be found in the Park including the unusual Black Poplar (Britain's rarest native timber tree, recognisable by its gnarled trunk), Silver Maples (distinguished by their finely cut silvery leaves) and Silver Limes (which have leaves that are a silvery white underneath). There are also some native oaks and Hawthorna tree that supports a lot of wildlife with its rich blossom providing nectar for insects in the spring and its berries proving food for birds in the autumn. 11
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During spring more than 250,000 daffodils burst into life, making The Green Park yellow for a few glorious weeks.
The park is open all day all year round. We can get there by tube and bus and, like St James’s Park, there are no parking facilities.
These photos show the four seasons in Green Park. The first photo was taken in autumn, the second in winter, the third in spring and the last one in summer.
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Greenwich Park Covering 74 hectares (183 acres), Greenwich is the oldest Royal Park and home to a small herd of Fallow and Red deer. Situated on top of a hill, visitors enjoy sweeping views across the River Thames to St Paul's Cathedral and beyond. The park is part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site, host to the Prime Meridian Line and the old Royal Observatory, as well as having the National Maritime Museum as a neighbour. Greenwich Park is an outstanding place to visit. As well being of major historic importance and a World Heritage Site, the Park is also a Grade listed landscape and a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation - in short, a real haven for wildlife. Greenwich Park is divided in two by a steep-sloped escarpment that runs from east to west. The gravel terraces of the southern half of the Park rise to heights of up to 45m above sea level from which you can enjoy some spectacular views across London. This stunning landscape is a simply wonderful setting for watching wildlife among the grasslands and trees of the Park. Greenwich Park offers a range of sports, including cricket and rugby. You can also bring along your frisbee or football for some informal fun.
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The paths and grass areas are used extensively for walking, jogging, running, cycling and also ride horses (there are special paths for do the last two things). The Rangers' Field at the south end of the park close to the Blackheath Gate has space for two rugby pitches.
It also offers users a changing pavilion with two team changing rooms and showers. In the summer, the Rangers' Field is marked out and maintained for cricket. Immediately to the north of Rangers' Field is the Greenwich Park Tennis Centre offering 6 hard courts.
The park is open from 6.00am for pedestrians (and 7.00am for traffic) all year round. Closing times vary depending on the season. Getting there: Tube, train, Dockland Light Railway, bus and river boat (you can take riverboats to Greenwich Pier from Westminster, Embankment or Tower Piers). Parking facilities and disabled parking available.
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Bushy Park With an area of 445 hectares (1,099 acres), Bushy is the second largest of the Royal Parks. Lying to the north of Hampton Court Palace, the park, has a distinctly rural character and is home to around 320 free-roaming deer. The famous Arethusa 'Diana' Fountain forms the centrepiece to the famous Chestnut Avenue. Arethusa Diana Fountain
There is an wildlife and walls. More visitors enjoy
incredible range of habitats within its than two million the Park each year.
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The Park has a distinctive landscape, shaped in part by its history as a royal hunting ground but also by its many ponds and streams. These are fed with water by the Longford River created in 1637 by Charles I to bring water to Hampton Court Palace. The Longford runs for 12 miles from the north of Heathrow airport down through Bedfont, Feltham, and Hampton, through the Park and on to Hampton Court. The long list of birds to be found in the Park includes all three native woodpeckers, kestrel, tawny owl and a range of waterfowl. Kingfisher can often be seen or heard along the banks of the Longford River and the various ponds and water bodies in the Park - their brilliant blue plumage is a stunning sight.
You can practice different sports in Bushy Park, like cycling, horse-riding or rugby. The park is open 24 hours for pedestrians, except September and November when opening time is 8am, and closing time is 10:30pm. Vehicle access is from 6:30am to dusk, closing at 7:00pm in winter. During the months of September and November, the park opens at 8am. We can get there by bus or train. There are parking facilities.
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Richmond Park Richmond Park, at almost 1000 hectares (2500 acres), is the largest Royal Park in London and is home to around 650 free roaming deer. The pastoral landscape of hills, woodlands, ponds, gardens and grasslands set amongst ancient trees offers a peaceful respite to visitors. The Park is designated as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
The Isabella Plantation is now an ornamental woodland garden, full of exotic plants, that is designed to be interesting all year round. But its name suggests a far humbler origin.
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Richmond Park is a site of both national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It is London's largest Site of Special Scientific Interest, a National Nature Reserve and a Special Area of Conservation.
An extremely wide range of sports are available in the Park, from informal kickabouts to horseriding to club rugby.
The park is open from 7am in the summer and 7.30 in the winter, and closes at dusk all year round. We can get there by tube and bus, and there are car parks.
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Kensington Gardens Covering 111 hectares (275 acres), Kensington Gardens is planted with formal avenues of magnificent trees and ornamental flower beds. It is a perfect setting for Kensington Palace, peaceful Italian Gardens, the Albert Memorial, Peter Pan statue and the Serpentine Gallery.
The
Italian gardens in Kensington gardens
Kensington
Albert Memorial in the garden Gallery Peter Pan statue
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The Serpentine
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The Gardens are particularly popular for sunbathing and picnics in fine weather. It is also popular as a healthy walking route to work for commuters. The paths are used extensively by joggers and runners. Cycling is allowed on the designated path linking the Queen's Gate to West Carriage Drive, Mount Gate to the Broadwalk and the broadwalk itself from Black Lion Gate to Palace Gate. Informal games do take place in the Gardens but are discouraged in view of the importance of the historic landscape and the desire to maintain their primary role as a peaceful refuge for people living, working or visiting Central London. The Diana, Princess of Wales' Memorial Playground is a fantastic adventure for kids up to the age of 12. Over 70,000 youngsters enjoy the playground each year. Bird records for Kensington Gardens go back more than a hundred years and 178 species have so far been identified. Green Woodpeckers nest in the Gardens - a rare occurrence in Central London.
The park is open from 6am to dusk all year round.
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Getting there: By tube or bus. You can get there by your particular car if you want, there are parking facilities in the park.
Personal opinion Our opinion about this project is very positive. It has been very interesting, because some weeks ago, we didn’t know that there are many green areas and big parks in London. Specially, we are eager to visit these places in June, when we go to London. We realized that big and important cities like London can have big green areas in the middle. Most of these parks have a lot of flora and fauna, and people go there for do picnics and sunbathing, do a lot of sport or just to relax and have some fresh air. When we go to London, we will have lunch in the most important Royal Park: Hyde Park. This will be on our first 21
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day there (June 10th) in the afternoon. If the day is sunny, we will have a packed lunch, and after this, we will have a gimcana party. IT WILL BE FANTASTIC!!!
Bibliography We have researched information from different web pages and books. - Google (www.google.es) - Royal Parks (www. royalparks.org.uk) - Royal Parks (www.royalparkshalf.com) - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) - London by John Escott (Oxford bookworms)
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