A sunny Autumn day in Holland Park

With less effort we said goodbye to the Summer, because Autumn offered us such a warm welcome. On days like these we love to walk through a forest or a park with the sun’s rays reflecting beautifully on the golden leaves and in the background a clear blue sky. This time we stretched our legs in the beautiful Holland Park. A park which I had already passed a few times, but where I had not previously seized the opportunity to actually explore the terrain. While behind these high walls you will find 22.5 hectares of gardens, sports fields, playgrounds, a cafeteria and large forest areas with many animals in the wild. Every day hundreds of people visit this beautiful park in Kensington / Chelsea to enjoy this green oase of peace and quiet.

Once this park was the site of Cope Castle, a large Jacobin mansion that was built in the early 17th century by Sir Walter Cope. Later the castle was renamed Holland House after his second owner, the Count of Holland and his wife Lady Rich. During the 19th century many politicians and literaries gathered at the Holland House to talk about politics, and it soon became known as a ‘center of political and literary activity‘.

Long path at the entrance of the park with on the left side the sport fields.

Unfortunately, the Holland House was destroyed during World War II. But then the area changed into the beautiful park as it is now.

Walking over the green field where you can sport and picnic.

We started our walk on Kensington High Street, where we entered the entrance gate to continue on the Holland Walk. A path that leads practically from Kensington to Notting Hill. Next to the path you will find different sports fields, where students practice sports activities daily. In addition to a football and cricket pitch, Holland Park also offers sport facilities for tennis, golf and korfball.

Walking path towards the cafe, Japanese garden and playgrounds.

A very special acquisition in the middle of the park is the Kyoto garden that was built during the Japan Festival in London in 1992. In this luxurious Japanese-style garden you will find a pond with koi carps, a bridge at the foot of a waterfall and Japanese maple trees. It is a popular place to relax on a bench or to join one of the many yoga and meditation classes.

Watching sculptural art in the gardens of Holland Park.

After a delicious ice cream at the adjacent cafeteria, it was time to explore both playgrounds. In addition to a small playground for the younger children, the park also offers a great adventure playground where children can run around and explore all kind of climb faciliets.

Holland Park is also the basis of the Ecological Service of the municipality. The Ecological Center in Holland Park organizes various events, activities and educational visits and workshops for schools. They also run a nature club for children with lots of fun educational activities, holiday programming and special seasonal events.

During the summer months, the Holland Park Theater is set up in the middle of the park, where opera performances are performed. The theater hosts a variety of performances with previous productions such as Les Miserables, Alice’s adventures in Wonderland, and performances by The Royal Ballet School.

After a few hours of walking and playing Holland Park we got back to the entrance gate next to Kensington High Street. Amazing how a busy city like London has so many big parks full of history and beautiful nature. The perfect place for an afternoon of fun, relaxation or just a short lunchbreak.