Hyde Park

Hyde Park has many attractions that make it a perfect picnic spot – not only is there oodles of space in which you can stretch out to enjoy some nosh, but you can also go roller-blading, play numerous sports and go boating on the Serpentine. Hyde Park is also the venue for fantastic events at which picnics are welcome – September’s Proms in the Park is just one of the great options. The wonderful Kensington Gardens is just a short stroll away, why not spend a day exploring both?

Ham Polo Club

Serve up some high-octane sporting action with your picnic on Sundays at Ham Polo Club, when spectators can lounge by the side of the pitch and watch London’s only polo team compete whilst they munch on sandwiches and scotch eggs. Entry to matches, which take place until 29 September, is £5 per person, or £20 for a car of up to four people.

Highbury Fields

If you like your picnics sizzling, head to Highbury Fields where you can BBQ in the park. As well as a warm welcome for your disposable barbecues, the park offers a children’s playground, sports facilities and a dog-free picnic area.

St James’s Park

Situated next to Buckingham Palace, St James’s is one of London’s prettiest parks. Not only can you have a picnic whilst admiring the surrounding architecture, the park’s foliage and the stunning expanse of water, but you can also see the park’s famous pelicans when they’re fed every day at 2.30pm.

Lincoln’s Inn Fields

Lincoln’s Inn Fields, which adjoins one of the four Inns of Court at which all barristers are members, is the largest public square in London. It’s a peaceful place for a picnic in between seeing the sights of central London – both Covent Garden and the British Museum are less than 10 minutes away.

Hampstead Heath

At 790 acres, you’re truly spoiled for choice as to where to picnic on Hampstead Heath. You could head to Parliament Hill, from which you can get an unrivalled view over London, sit in the grounds of historic Kenwood House or picnic next to the lido if you feel like an afternoon swim.

Greenwich Park

It’s not often you can picnic in a World Heritage Site, but London’s Greenwich Park allows you to do just that. Situated by the river Thames, the park offers stunning views of both the water and central London. Closer at hand are the magnificent Royal Maritime Museum and the old Royal Observatory, which provide a dramatic backdrop as well as the perfect post-picnic activity.

Victoria Tower Gardens

Picnic next to the Houses of Parliament in this riverside park, which gives you a chance to study the historical palace of Westminster up close. The park itself also contains a range of interesting features, including a replica of Rodin’s The Burghers of Calais and the Buxton Memorial Fountain, commemorating the emancipation of slaves.

The Regent’s Park

The stunning Regent’s Park is a wonderful place to have a picnic, especially if you’re having a relaxed meal before you see a production at the park’s Open Air Theatre.  Picnic-ers can enjoy views over the lake, the glorious expanse of roses in Queen Mary’s Gardens or even the entire city of London from the heights of the park’s Primrose Hill.

Battersea Park

South London’s Battersea Park is full of picturesque picnic spots, as well as a host of attractions. Explore the children’s zoo, float on the boating lake or see an exhibition at the striking Pump House Gallery.

Where’s your favourite place to have a picnic in London?

The open expanse of the Heath had always attracted travelling showmen but in the 19th century the event became a fully-fledged fun fair, with donkey rides, ice-cream sellers, roundabouts, side shows and coconut shies.

The fair grew in size: ordinary Londoners seized the chance to scream on the helter skelter, try their luck on the hoop-la and munch candy floss.

By 1910 the crowds on Easter Monday numbered over 200,000 people. In 1920, royalty paid a visit when Queen Alexandra drove past to view the Easter Monday festivities.

Hampstead’s Easter fun fair continued during and after the Second World War. By the 1950s the rides had become larger and noisier with American-style dodgem cars and a big wheel, but old-fashioned merry-go-rounds and hurdy-gurdy men kept a bit of Victorian character.

There were booths selling silly hats to wear, or the chance to be photographed with a live parrot on your shoulder, and it was always incredibly crowded. This was where Londoners let their hair down.

Guest post by the Museum of London as part of our Visiting the Past series. More London history next week

Tourists often ask if they can go on a day trip to Stonehenge from London (the answer is yes). But now this English icon has come to the capital. Well, sort of…

Sacrilege is effectively a massive bouncy castle, the creation of Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller. Unlike the real Stonehenge, visitors are encouraged to interact with the structure and wow, is it fun! Adults and children alike jump and run with expressions of pure joy (and ultimately exhaustion) on their faces. My young family and I loved the experience so much, we went back to North Greenwich the next day for more. It’s free and no ticket is required.

Part of the London 2012 Festival, Sacrilege is touring the UK and is in London between now and the end of the Olympic Games on 12 August. The remaining London stops are:

• King Edward VII Park, Brent (25 Jul)
• Paddington Recreation Ground (28 Jul)
• Cheam Park (29 Jul)
• Ravenscourt Park (31 Jul)
• Hampstead Heath (1 Aug)
• Clapham Common (2 Aug)
• Burgess Park (4 Aug)
• Barra Hall Park (5 Aug)
• East Ham Central Park (7 Aug)
• Crystal Palace Park (9 Aug)
• Alexandra Palace (10 Aug)
• Christchurch Green (11 Aug)
• Waterworks Nature Reserve (12 Aug)

For full details see London 2012 Festival. So, will you be making a date to get in touch with your bouncy inner child? Now the school holidays are here, what’s your favourite London destination for family-friendly fun?

Janie Easterman shared this great photo of one of the ponds on Hampstead Heath. A third of London is green space offering plenty of opportunities to relax and enjoy the summer in the centre of town.

If you’re taking lots of photos of all the exciting things happening in London this summer, don’t forget to share your photos with the Visit London Flickr group.

Despite the Baltic conditions last Sunday, the Victorian bandstand in Arnold Circus, E2 was surrounded by music lovers assembled for the last Bandstand Busking gig of the year.

Founded in 2008, Bandstand Busking hopes to breathe new life into London’s many under-used bandstands, by enticing established and up-and-coming bands to perform free mini gigs. Acts have included Guillemots, She Keeps Bees and Wild Beasts at venues ranging from Lincoln’s Inn Fields to Hampstead Heath.

Forest Fire and Lulu & The Lampshades rocked the bandstand on Sunday, making good use of the excellent acoustics. Those Victorians knew what they were doing.

For more information and to find out about gigs in 2012 visit the Bandstand Busking website or follow them on twitter @bandstandbusks

This week’s photo from Laura Nolte shows the trees on Hampstead Heath wearing their beautiful autumn colours.

If you love taking photos of London, share them with the Visit London Flickr group and we could be admiring your work next week!

Did you know April is National Kite Month? It started as an American tradition, but it’s one we’re happy to adopt over here!

And with clear blue skies and not much other celestial activity going on over the weekend (due to the Icelandic volcano eruption grounding all flights into and out of the UK) it was an ideal time to get outside with a kite.

Did you launch your kite over the weekend at “Kite Hill” on Hampstead Heath, on Clapham Common or one of the London’s other open spaces? If so, we want to know about it.

Tell us where you think is London’s best spot for kite flying?

Alan and Lyn

Where are you from? Visiting from Sydney, Australia

Is it your first visit? Our daughter lives here now so we’ve come to London several times to see her. Alan’s been here on business on a few occasions over the years. And Lyn lived in Paddington for a while during the early 70s.

Did you visit anywhere outside London? Yes, we had several weeks in the UK – Northern Ireland, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

What sights have you seen in London? Trafalgar Square, National Portrait Gallery, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, St James’s Park, Hampstead Heath, Kenwood House, Highgate Cemetery.

Where have you eaten? Local pubs around Tufnell Park.

Any nights out? We had a great night out at The Jazz Café London in Camden to see Wanda Jackson.

What’s different about life in London to Sydney? Much bigger city, more to see and do, very comprehensive transport system – crowded at times but available for anywhere we needed to go. Faster pace.

What surprised you? We’re always impressed by the London transport system and how well it seems to cope with the enormous numbers of people using it. Surprised and pleased by the number of parks and open space generally in such a large city.

What was the highlight? This visit, apart from seeing family, the highlight was the Wanda Jackson concert and exploring Hampstead Heath more thoroughly.

There’s a secret world of fitness happening in London each morning. While the rest of us are creaking awake with coffee and trying to convince ourselves to have muesli and yoghurt instead of toast with honey (or even the full English), plenty of people are out peddling, paddling, pumping iron or pounding the pavement.

This morning I joined them.

Impressing even myself by rolling out of bed at 6.30am, I fronted up to the Parliament Hill lido (or Hampstead Heath lido, as it’s also known) just as it was opening at 7am. It’s an outdoor pool but fear of the cold did not deter me, and nor should it have, with water a balmy 22 degrees – exactly the same temperature as the morning air.

Between 7 and 7.30 you swim widths (27m) across the pool, which seemed odd at first but was actually quite pleasant, especially in my “flabulous” state of body. Swimmers switch to lengths (60m) from 7.30-9am, when the morning session ends.

The pool was full but not crowded with the usual assortment of young and old, fit and not-so – all sharing the joy of warm weather and wonderful water. They rely on a system of politeness rather than using lane markers and it all went swimmingly, if you’ll excuse the pun.

On my way out, I heard two regulars grumbling good-naturedly about how the recent heatwave meant the pool was far busier than usual and that they hoped a thunderstorm might drive some of us Jane-come-latelys away. I can see how they’d want to keep something so good all to themselves. But I’ll be back.

Check out Visit London’s list of places to swim outdoors in London. What’s your favourite pool?