London Dog Walking Hyde Park

You are likely to see our Paddington Pet Sitter walking her dogs here. Hyde Park is on of London's finest and largest parks with over 350 acres (142 hectares). It has over 4000 trees, a lake and you would be forgiven for forgetting that you were in central London.

Henry VIII acquired Hyde Park from the monks of Westminster Abbey in 1536 and used it with his knights for hunting deer. It remined a private hunting ground until James I gave some limited access. During the plague in 1655 many residents escaped the city and camped here.

Following the move of the Royal Court to Kensington Palace King William felt that the route to the city was too dangerous and had 300 oil lamps installed along the route that became known as Rotten Row, a corruption of the French "Route de Roi" - Kings Road. This was the first illuminated highway in the UK.

Queen Caroline, the wife of King George II renovated the gardens and in 1730 created an artifical lake - "The Serpentine". There is a memorial to Queen Caroline at the Eastern end of the Serpentine.

Hyde Park is often used for celebrations. This hs included the Great exhibition of 1851, fireaorks in 1814 to celebrate the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the 1977 Queen Elisabeth Silver Jubilee.

There are many regular events carried out in the park, big bands in 2009 include Neil Young and Bruce Springstein.

As you enter Hyde Park from Kensington Gardens on the south side of the Serpentine you come to Princess Dianas Memorial Fountains, though dogs are not allowed in.

The Lido is very popular in good weather, it has been updated since it was built in 1930. The cafe on the banks of the Serpentine just outside the Lido is a fine spot. There is railing to stop the young and dogs jumping in, though if the dog sees a duck, its easy for him to leap, so be careful. There are a number of other cafes.


There are many types of duck and other birds for dogs to chase into the Serpentine.





















Other activities include rollerblading, everywhere, but especially along the Serpentine Road.















This leads onto the Cavalry Memorial.













From here you can pass into the quiet and beautiful Rose Garden.





The rose gardens include the famous boy and dolphin statue.





From here you can cross over to Green Park via the Wellington Arch.