At just 0.2 miles or less than a 5 minute walk from our DSL, we are lucky to have one of the most important attractions in London and a national nature reserve. I am talking, of course, about Richmond Park.
It is the largest of the London’s Royal Parks and the largest urban park in Europe covering 2,500 acres. It was created by Charles I as a red and fallow deer park as he moved his court to Richmond Palace in 1625. That is why the King ordered the construction of walls all around the park in 1637 (which still remain in place and actually serve the same purpose today). The construction of these walls was not popular among the local residents at the time, so the King had to allow citizens the right to walk across the park.
Besides its rich fauna including deer, rabbits, bats, owls and a huge range of beetle types, the park is also a top site for ancient trees in England, specifically oaks, and it includes a huge area of acid grassland that covers more than 60 percent of the park and that houses more than 400,000 little hilltops that are in fact ant-hills. Their inhabitants are the yellow meadow ants.
For me, Richmond Park is not only all that. It is also a place where everyone can have a great day out by playing football in the meadow by Ham Gate, going cycling along the famous Tamsin Trail, grabbing a sandwich and enjoying a picnic at Isabella Plantation or walking past the top of King’s Henry Mound to see the amazing London skyline in the distance. For that and much more, I am always happy to go back to Richmond Park!