Holland Park, West Kensington, London

lovely place for fresh air and to clear head nice space to play around with for da kidz :)

Holland Park has a peaceful atmosphere quite unlike any other park I know in London, and it's a great place to wander around if you're nearby and want to clear your head.

In particular, the Kyoto Gardens are well worth a visit: a beautifully landscaped Zen garden complete with gently sloping hills, waterfalls and very friendly Koi Karp, it really is a delight for the senses.

If you like a bit of wildlife, there's plenty of it here. Aside from the fish, there are the famous peacocks that strut around the paths, lots of squirrels and a wild population of black rabbits.

This is a great park. You can find our more about this and other London football pitches at http://www.londonpitches.com

I was recently stuck on High Street Kensington with some time to kill. It was a sunny day and I didn't fancy locking myself back in my flat with the Xbox. "A park would be nice," I thought to myself. "But Kensington Gardens seems a bit open, flat and ... Frankly boring and accessible." Then a thought crossed my mind and my eyes lit up. Holland Park! Why had I not thought of it earlier?

That's a good question. Indeed while Hyde Park and it's western annex Kensington Gardens are the well-known celebrities of the Kensington park circuit, Holland Park is always the understated secret, the struggling underground actor suffering for his art. For no real reason, as it offers in many ways a more varied, contained and unspoilt experience than its more celebrated rivals. Holland Park's lack of profile is surprising considering it is a big park, sporting football playing fields like its bigger rival, as well as extras like a top-notch open air opera house, a kids' adventure playground, tropical birds including peacocks -- a big hit with the kids -- and a very nice refreshment and cafe area. It even has a little Japanese garden for those that like their manicured landscapes, bonzai and goldfish.

It is also just so much more peaceful than its larger neighbors. And if one goes into the unkempt paths behind the opera house, you cab get lost in the brackishness an forget you are in London.

So if you are at a loss on what to do next in Kensington, Notting Hill or Shepherds Bush, and bored with the usual, head a little ways west to Holland park. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Great for the kids !

yes nice place, we poped in when we were site seeing,
lovely art, kids had fun so all was good

Pretty but a little over cultivated

Beautiful old park!!!

Lovely, multi-faceted park not often discovered by the tourist (and thus loved by the locals!). Check out the Kyoto Garden for some zen like chilling, or take a bat and ball to the sports field and have a night at the park with your pals and a bottle of vino rather than in another pub. Great kids park I am reliably informed also!

Holland park is a lovely space. My children & I love going to see the wildlife there like the magnificent peacocks strolling around & the abundance of squirrels so tame they will feed out of your hand. There is also a huge fantastic playground for the kids that they never want to leave. The Japanese garden is a must see with it’s beautiful tranquil pond full of giant carp fish surrounded by gorgeous plants & flowers. There are nice eating places where you can sit & enjoy the scenery & a tennis court if you fancy a game. A wonderful day out for all the family & somewhere you will visit again & again as we have.

I love it here. Best way to spend an afternooon

Holland Park is an absolute gem in London that often gets overlooked in favour of it’s bigger neighbor Hyde Park. Holland Park has a stunning open-air opera theatre in the centre that has nightly performances throughout the summer. The park is also home to a number of leafy nature walks, a traditional Japanese garden, numerous playgrounds and pitches and a youth hostel.

It’s not uncommon to see some of the resident peacocks walking around the park as well. For a smaller park, it can feel quite spacious and is a joy to explore.

Holland park was one of my best place in london,It was in central london,but with so many trees and flowers,you feel like you are far from the noisy city center.It had many small gardens,ponds,also had tennis court.Especially on sunny days,walk in the park was really enjoyable and made you feel very relax

Holland Park is fantastic and is easily accessible from central London and is about 20mins away on the bus from Marble Arch. Is is even quicker if you take the tube!

It is a small park in comparison to some of the others but it has a wonderful Japanese garden which is very peaceful and tranquil. It features a traditional Japanese water feature at its centre with giant carp fish.

Another great feature of this park is the wild peacocks that roam around. They really are magnificent creatures and when they put their feathers on show it is a real sight! It is especially fun to watch the males trying to impress the females! :-)

One of the most picturesque parks in London.
I used to work at the Belvedere restaurant and it was simply a pleasure coming to work every day.
It’s a beautiful place to spend a warm summer afternoon.
Some areas are rustic and overgrown, others are fantastically landscaped.
If you have kids, they’ll love the huge, lovingly maintained playground and the free roaming peacocks.
A lot of celebrities live near the park, so don’t be surprised if you see a famous face or two!

children’s play areas, including an under eights’ area
sports facilities, including tennis courts, football pitch, netball court, cricket nets and golf bunker, a cafeteria
ecology centre formal and informal gardens grassed areas and woodlands dog run, fortune of solace, an inspiring mastery park for all ages.

Holland Park is something of a hidden treasure as, apart from the short frontage on Kensington High Street, it is entirely surrounded by housing.

Although there are some formal gardens, and a small but delightful Japanese garden, much of it is given over to woodland, with rustic picket fences lining the walkways.

The gardens are lovely in summer, but better still is the Opera held outdoors here every year: see website for details (makes a change from outdoor Shakespeare!).

The website also lists lots of family-friendly sporting activites, including the wonderfully-entitled ‘Baby Boot Camp’. The mind boggles!

Holland Park is one of the most, if not THE most beautiful park in London, even though it's one of the smallest. I actually think that its small size adds a lot to its charm. I used to go there for lunch break when I was working on Kensington High Street. It's a great place for children since there is a nice adventure playground in the park. Lovers will enjoy the wooden walks and the amazing Japanese garden.

There are several reasons to love Holland Park. In particular, the Kyoto Garden with its craggy waterfall flowing into its lovely koi pond comes to mind (why can’t I be there right now?). Other salubrious reasons include all those mega-cute bunnies, the peacocks, and the wooden trails. It’s a wonderful bit of London, especially on a sunny day.

Holland Park is great alternative to Hyde or Regents because although it holds a degree of fame, most people will still head elsewhere when the sun is out. What this means is you can usually find a great spot to have a picnic or a drink, or just mess about. For the more sporty amongst us, there are two sets of tennis courts, a massive sportsfield (including a football pitch and a cricket crease) and nets to practice in. There is also a beautiful Japanese garden which could be the most attractive in the whole of the South-East and numerous walking routes, which makes it popular for dog-walkers and joggers. To eat, you can either go upmarket, at the exclusive Belvedere Restaurant or just have a snack at the cafe. Also, for the musical amongst us, Holland Park includes a full-size open-air opera, which opens throughout the year.