Battersea Park  

Before Battersea park was created in 1858 the fields skimming the riverside there were a popular spot for duelling.

That’s right. There was so little going on there, people used to shoot each other for fun.

Now, it’s a slightly different story. Because now, there’s actually so much going on, it’s almost a shoo-in for the title of ‘most interesting park’. It’s also one of the biggest parks in London – all told, there are 200 acres of green space stuffed with literally dozens of cool things, for virtually anyone who cares to venture down there. You can find:

• Putt in the Park Mini-Golf – with a full course of obstacle-rich holes (and a restaurant serving wood-fired pizza).
• A boating lake – with a mini fleet of boats and pedalos, all rentable, for up to 5 people.
• Go-Ape – with a treetop trail stretching 13.6 meters above the ground and a 50m-long zip line.
• The Pump House Gallery – not only is this lakeside building (dating back to 1861) beautiful on the outside, but thanks to the exhibitions they hold there it’s beautiful on the inside too.
• A bunch of tennis courts – as in, 19. Plus a running track. And a couple of artificial pitches. AND a gym. And anyone who wants to can book a court, not just members.
• A children’s zoo – and no, despite the name, it doesn’t contain children. It actually has otters, monkeys, tamarins, wallabies, lemurs, wildcats, armadillos, flying tree frogs, giant snails, bird-eating tarantulas, and something called a ‘fancy rat’.
• The Peace Pagoda – this place was built in 1985, and it’s looked after each day by a Buddhist monk (Reverend Gyoro Nagase) who lives in a converted temple within the park’s English Garden.

Kamran Chaudhry/Unsplash

Oh yeah, there’s an English Garden too. But honestly, at this point, there’s just too much stuff to stuff in here. It’s far better if you simply go down and explore it all for yourself, or takes someone with you and, you know…

…shoot the breeze.

NOTE: Battersea Park is open now. You can see a map and a list of facilities at the website right HERE.

Battersea Park | Battersea, SW11 4NJ

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