Top Rated Parks to Visit in East Finchley

"Established in 1536 by Henry VIII, Hyde Park is one of London’s largest green spaces, with more than 4,000 trees, vibrant flower gardens and a large meadow which plays host to many public concerts and celebrations. Check out the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, enjoy a bite in the royal park’s lakeside restaurants, or rent a row boat for a leisurely paddle on the Serpentine. Here are nine secrets no one knew about Princess Diana until after her death."

"If you have absolutely no knowledge of London and are unable to find England on a map, you’ve probably still heard of Hyde Park. Being the most famous of London’s parks, it’s arguably the most touristy, but you won't see anyone it's huge. Hyde Park stretches across 350 acres of royal expanse, where visitors can enjoy a spot of boating, tennis and even horse riding."

"The 350-acre space is located right in the heart of London, making it easy to access and easy to find if you’re learning your way around London. During the summer months, this park is filled with happy picnic goers, and is certainly big enough to make sure social distancing procedures are followed, too."

"Richmond Park is the biggest park in London, at a whopping 2,500 acres. As the largest royal park, you can expect hundreds of deer enjoying the open space as well as a range of other wildlife including bats, birds and wildflowers. There are also stunning views which stretch so far you can see St Paul’s Cathedral."

"If you fancy a trip outside of central London, then Richmond Park is a must-visit. The largest of the city’s eight royal parks, the 2500-acre site not only boasts its own golf course and 40-acre woodland garden but is home to several herds of deer, which roam freely."

"Always sad to see some of the big stag go but it’s how the park is managed and has lasted so long."

"Escape to the country without leaving the city with a trip to Hampstead Heath, just a few kilometres from Central London. This wild and undulating expanse of green space spans nearly 800 acres, with woodland, playing fields, swimming ponds and meadows. Hike up Parliament Hill for unbeatable views or take a dip in the Hampstead ponds on a hot summer’s day."

"One of the city’s wildest green spaces, Hampstead Heath spans a huge proportion of north London. Stroll across the grass and clamber through the gnarled trees or take in the view of London from atop Parliament Hill. If you fancy a dip, the lido is on one side of the hill and the bathing ponds on the other."

"Huge and sprawling with incredible views, woodlands and open air swimming ponds!. The perfect park for a winter wander, a place to watch the fireworks in London or picnic in the sun and a swim for the brave."

"Amazing Kew Gardens in the southwest neighbourhood of Kew is one of London’s most picturesque parks; 132 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses that that house the world’s most diverse collection of living plants. Kew Gardens was founded in 1840 and is today London’s largest UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with beautiful glasshouses, including the iconic Palm House and its exotic rainforest. There’s a magical children’s garden, the fantastic Treetop Walkway that soars into the tree canopy at a height of 18 metres, and Kew Palace, the former summer residence of King George III."

"I may be biased because I live very near here but I believe beautiful Kew is the best area to stay in London and Kew Gardens is one of the best attractions here. Kew Gardens are 121 hectares of beautiful gardens and botanical glasshouses located between Richmond and Kew (in southwest London). The gardens are on a mission not only to be beautiful (which they are) but to contribute to research and nurturing of the plant kingdom."

"For a breath of fresh air, take a walk through St. James’s Park en-route to Buckingham Palace. The park is one of eight of the city’s Royal Parks and has over 50 acres of green spaces, flower beds, and even a lake that contains some famous resident pelicans."

"If visiting Buckingham palace or taking a jaunt through central London, St James's Park is the perfect rest stop. Stunning lakes which home many a duck and beautiful gardens, what more could you want?"

"One of the Royal London Parks, St James’s Park is one of the most visited each year mostly because of the many royal events that take place, like the annual Trooping of the Colour."

"You hear London and you think think: Museums, Hyde Park, the Queen and crazy shopping. London has everything. And as we learned recently, it has everything include several farms, yes farms!"

"Mudchute's rural scenes create a sharp contrast with the high rise towers of Canary Wharf. Pier Street, Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets, London, E14 3HP. Tube: North Greenwich Station"

"This small Victorian woodland plantation was planted in the 1830s, but not opened to the public until 1953. It’s famed for its evergreen azaleas, which are best viewed in late April or early May. The garden includes the National Collection of Wilson 50 Kurume Azaleas, as well as other rare and unusual shrubs and trees."

"Truly in the heart of the city, Red Cross Garden is part of the Bankside Open Spaces Trust. You can stare out at the city from the tranquility of the garden, which was restored to its original Victorian layout back in 2005. COVID-19 UPDATE: Red Cross Garden looks to be open, but please respect social distancing rules."

": Row upon row of glass jars, with everything from tiny organisms, to strange two-headed beasts, to examples of gross diseases, this museum can be very creepy at times, especially when it’s quiet. However, it’s so much more than the freakshow that it is sometimes made out to be, offering a unique insight into the history of surgery and advances in modern medicine. The next few months are your last chance to see the museum before it closes in 2017 for refurbishment, so get going!"

"The highly informative and entertaining Science Museum fills seven floors with interactive exhibits. The Energy Hall highlights the first steam locomotives, which date from the early 19th century, while the third-floor exhibits, which include old gliders, hot-air balloons and flight simulators, are popular with kids."

"Because it’s filled with everything you know about, but probably don’t really know about. Like exhibitions on space exploration with the Apollo 10 command module; a flight simulator; a three-metre-high, 600kg Spacelab 2 X-ray telescope; an immersive VR descent from space with astronaut Tim Peake; and displays on developments in contemporary psychological science, medicine, climate and 3D printing. And an IMAX theatre."

"After a full day in the Natural Science Museum, I then made my parents spend a whole day at the Science Museum. The Science Museum is even more interactive, with lots of games that you can play and cool things you can learn. My personal favourite exhibition at the Science Museum is the space one."

"Simon’s Bakery offers the best cakes and sweet treats that will suit any palate and make your celebrations extra special and more awesome. Dedicated to bringing the best quality of cakes to all their cake lover customers, they ensure to use only the finest ingredients that are tasty, flavourful and utterly satisfying. Following the customer’s preference and specification, they discuss all elements to consider like sizes, colours, flavours and designs to ensure the most perfect and lovely creation that will match the occasion that you are celebrating."

"Why combine two baked goods together when you could do three?. That’s exactly what Sophia Sutton-Jones aka Sourdough Sophia has done at her Crouch End microbakery with the chocolate babka cruffin. All the flavours of a chocolate babka wrapped into a croissant-muffin hybrid….yes, yes and yes."

"Restaurants Bakeries Dalston. It may be little more than a hole-in-the-wall behind Ridley Road market in Dalston, but Ararat’s Middle Eastern-style flatbreads (they call them ‘naans’) are the stuff of legend and find their way into countless restaurants and shops across town – as well serving the needs of hungry local boozehounds. The action centres around a huge rotating oven and a trestle table where the naans are bagged up (hot ones are wrapped in paper, cold ones come in environmentally friendly plastic bags)."

"This poky bakery on Ridley Road Market does some of the best flatbreads in the whole of London. This is the spot to visit if you’re in the market for a bread that’s wonderfully chewy, easy to tear-and-share, and practically begging to be dragged through a pool of hummus. Affable owner Chaudhry Zafar Iqbal has perfected each and every blistered bread that comes out of Ararat’s intimidating naan oven."

"This tiny operation on Dalston’s thrumming Ridley Road Market serves London’s most outstanding flatbread. Blistered, pillowy, light, soft — the run of adjectives could go on and on — and wrapped with egg, garlic, or finely-minced meat if a quick lunch is needed, nothing else is needed."