Parks and Open Spaces
Some of the most famous parks in London are within easy walking distance of Belsize Park including Primrose Hill, Regent’s Park and Hampstead Heath.
Regent’s Park evolved from the 1811 plans of John Nash, Crown Architect and friend of The Prince Regent. To raise revenue for the Crown, he designed private residential estate set in parkland. From the steep summit of Primrose Hill there are fine views of Westminster and the City.
The area now open to the public is mainly open parkland which supports a wide range of facilities and amenities including gardens, a lake with islands, a heronry and waterfowl collection, sports and catering, children’s playgrounds and the Open Air Theatre. It also contains London Zoo and is the largest outdoor grass area for sports in central London.
In the north of the borough is Hampstead Heath, one of London’s major open spaces, consisting of almost 800 acres of mixed grassland and woodland. It is rather more than parkland than heath but it does have plenty of semi-wild areas, sections of extensive tree cover, and a number of small lakes reserved for boating and swimming.