This walk through some of London’s most famous parks begins in Kensington Gardens and continues through Hyde Park. We started by exploring the beautiful Kensington Palace then walked to the Italian Gardens, where we took a moment to enjoy a coffee before heading towards the peaceful Serpentine Lake and visiting the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. In this post, I’ll share my experience of exploring these iconic spots and others in-between, and why they’re worth a visit.
Our ‘Tube Trekking’ adventure starts at ‘Kensington High Street Tube Station’ and ends at ‘Knightsbridge Tube Station’, though you could begin or finish at various points since you’re in central London. Once you reach Knightsbridge, there’s plenty more to see and do, including great places to eat, drink, and shop, making this an ideal itinerary for a full day out in London.
Welcome to the Kensington Gardens & Hyde Park circular walk. We’ll start at ‘Kensington High Street‘ tube station.
Getting There: Directions, GPX and App Link
The Hiking App I use is ‘OutdoorActive‘ which has a free and Pro version, the Pro version will allow you to download the routes to your phone and use them without using up your data. The reason I mention it is that if you were to download it, below is the link to this route in my hike list on that app, you can follow the arrows and voice on that. I think it is best that you do get the app, as most of these walks are a bit tricky to explain.
Navigation Aids:
- Follow this route on the Outdooractive App, it is free, and it will guide you around safely.
- Download my hand crafted *GPX file, and use it on your own guidance devices.
- * If you’re not sure what a GPX file is, I have put this post together that will hopefully explain it in plain words. It’s worth considering as well as mobile app navigation, as they will make your hikes better & safer.
Trek Profile
- Distance: 4m / 6km
- Duration: 4-5 hours (So much to see and a very relaxing walk, so we took our time.)
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Trek Description & Pics
You’ll start off at ‘Kensington High Street Station’, walking onto ‘Kensington High Street’ and turning right, walking along one of the most famous roads in the world.
As you step onto ‘Kensington High Street’, you will be on the main shopping street in Kensington. We turned right once outside the station, and as we had arrived early, we wanted to buy some food and snacks for the day.
On this side of the road not far from the station we went into the ‘Whole Foods Market‘, a food shop with everything you could want, and at a decent price also.
It was early, we fancied a coffee and great news they had a nice cafe inside the shop, we packed our food in our rucksack, had our coffee, and carried on making our way up the high street.
Moving on – after our delicious coffee we carried on up the high street, and just after you round the small bend you will see an entrance to the park on the opposite of the road, and Kensington Palace a short walk into the park.
‘Kensington Palace, a royal residence, birthplace of Queen Victoria and home to The Prince and Princess of Wales. Also a section of the Diana Princess Memorial Walk.
You can’t miss the palace it is directly in front of you, and we spent quite a bit of time just wondering the grounds, looking at the gardens and taking in the beauty of this place.
We didn’t go inside the palace but that is an option when you pay, and then you are also able to access the tea room, which also has an outdoor sitting area.
The history of this palace goes back over 300 years, and you can speak to people who have worked there.
Don’t forget to also visit the Orangery, where you can have a royal-inspired dining experience.
Moving on – Leaving the palace we walked over to the pond opposite had a little break under the tree, then returned to the main path heading north to the ‘Italian Gardens’. Once you reach the top of the park turn right and you’ll see the fountains appear.
The ‘Italian Gardens‘, created in 1860’s, believed to have been a gift from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria. An ornamental water garden on the north side of park, near Lancaster Gate.
I think this was my favourite part of the walk, it’s situated next to ‘Lancaster Gate’ one of the main park entrances in the top North section of Kensington Gardens.
The water features and the ornate sculptures are very picturesque and even though it was a beautiful day, it wasn’t too busy, we stayed a while, circled it all and enjoyed a coffee in the Italian cafe nearby.
The Italian Gardens design was inspired by those found in Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s palatial retreat on the Isle of Wight and was commissioned by her husband Prince Albert in 1860.
Moving on – With the lake on your left side, follow the path away from the Italian Gardens and if you can, look back and take a last look at the famous ‘Water Nymphs’. Then continue along part of the ‘Diana Memorial Walk’ until you reach the ‘Peter Pan Statue’.
The statue of ‘Peter Pan – the Shrine of Youth‘, a character by J M Barrie, unveiled April 1912.
110 years after the statue was unveiled, it continues to attract crowds of visitors – and there’s no chance of this slowing down. Peter Pan continues to be reinvented for each new generation, but this Peter will remain the most popular boy in Kensington Gardens for a very long time.
J M Barrie lived just across the road from Kensington Gardens at 100 Bayswater Road, and took inspiration for his story from a family of five young boys he met by chance at the park.
Moving on – Continue along the path with the ‘Serpentine Lake’ on your left, and walk under ‘Serpentine Bridge’, the next stop being the beautiful ‘Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain’.
‘Serenity Statue’ & ‘Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain’, opened by The Queen July 2004.
Outside the memorial fountain you will see the ‘Serenity Statue’, a sculpture inspired by the Egyptian goddess of nature, and just behind it the very famous and very popular memorial fountain for Diana.
The design aims to reflect Diana’s life, water flows from the highest point in two directions as it cascades, swirls and bubbles before meeting in a calm pool at the bottom. The water is constantly being refreshed and is drawn from London’s water table.
We rolled up our jeans and walked all around it with all the families, singles and couples, the water was very cool on a warm day, and we had a break here under one of the trees.
Princess Diana Memorial Fountain
Moving on – From here you can either continue along the lake or head behind the fountain memorial. You are now heading for Knightsbridge, which is the other side of the playing fields, behind the Diana memorial.
Finished in Hyde Park? Let’s get you back by making your way to Knightsbridge Tube Station, you may need to change lines somewhere, but this station is very close.
Once you are looking to head back, walk to the playing fields behind the Diana Memorial, you can cut through the fields or head to the road east or west of where you currently are.
You are looking for ‘Kensington Road’ which runs adjacent to large buildings on the opposite side, at certain points there are cut through’s but you can stay on this road heading East and the tube station is at the bottom.
Alternatively, you can do what we did and look for a pub for a well earned drink, and something nice to eat.
Congratulations, you’ve completed the ‘Kensington Gardens & Hyde Park Walk!’ Hopefully, the weather has been on your side, and you’ve had an incredible experience. To make your journey even smoother, I recommend downloading this route from the Outdooractive app. It will provide you with reassurance about timing and ensure you stay on the right track. With so much space and various paths in the area, it’s easy to unintentionally veer off course.
I truly hope you’ve enjoyed this walk, and I would greatly appreciate it if you could share this post using the social media buttons on your left or in the footer below. Your comments are also more than welcome—I love connecting with new people and discussing our shared experiences. Who knows, we might even meet up on one of our future walks. Thank you for joining me on this memorable adventure, and here’s to many more to come!
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