London has so many wonderful parks. In fact, there are 35,000 acres of public green space which equates to 40% of the surface of Greater London. This means that whether or not you have children, London parks and commons are a huge draw to the local residents (and tourists). Last weekend we visited Crystal Palace Park in South East London.
If you’re not familiar with Crystal Palace Park, then you might be wondering why we drove 45 minutes to this park when we live five minutes away from Richmond Park (the largest of the Royal London parks). Crystal Palace is a bit special. Yes, there is loads of grass, and some ponds and a roomy cafe. There’s also a children’s farm/petting zoo and a big playground with sand play. But, there are DINOSAURS! And if you read my blog, you know Dubz is obsessed with ‘dino-roars’.
In the years surrounding 1854, over 30 full-scale dinosaur statues were built in the park. Some of the statues are now known to be inaccurate, but they were the Victorian’s idea of dinosaurs. Some of the dinosaurs include ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and iguanodon. But don’t go expecting Tyrannosaurs Rex and Brachiosaurus like Dubz did. Still he was thrilled to be seeing such huge dinosaur statues in an outdoor setting.
If you fancy visiting the Crystal Palace Park Dinosaurs, there is no entrance fee. And there is free parking around the park (in parking lots and on the street). We were pleased with our meal in the cafe, though it took ages as we went at the peak time of 1pm. We didn’t have time to visit the Maze or the playground, but maybe next time.
I grew up in South London so I might be a teensy bit biased but it really is the most magical place on earth!
I love South London too and I didn’t even grow up there. I had to severely twist my husband’s arm to move south of the river, but once he did he loved it too!
I have never been to this one – but looks great. Lovely photos – making me a bit nostalgic for England! (I’m a British mum in California!) 🙂
Are you in California for good? I sometimes miss California but I’ve been here for so long I don’t think I could ever go back. Plus my accent is a bit dodgy now. 😉
Probably not, though it’s one of those ‘how long is a piece of string’ situations! We came for hubby’s job and was only originally supposed to be 2 years, but already nearly 4 and probably going to be longer… We love it here – though we miss our families back home (we are both British). Don’t miss the British weather though 😉
I’ve lived in London for over 15 years and not sure that I’ve ever made it to Crystal palace but the park looks fantastic for kids. One for the list!
It looks and sounds like a big park! I love the dinos like they are in a Zoo! Theres a Jurassic Park vibe =) #pointshoot