London's parks were laid out for royalty and are now kept for everyone. In the centre, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Green Park and St James's Park join up into one continuous run of grass, lakes and plane trees, so you can cover 10 km and cross a road only a handful of times.
Go further out and the character changes. Richmond Park is deer country with gravel trails and big skies, Hampstead Heath feels like countryside, and Greenwich gives you a lung-busting hill with the Prime Meridian at the top. Our pick for a first visit is the Hyde Park perimeter at 7am, then breakfast in Kensington.
