As we have just started to look at London and we are not too far from Spring, we thought this to be the PERFECT video to check out! Who doesn't want warmer weather?! This is a list of some of the MUST SEE London parks!! So many to check out and so much to do! They are incredibly gorgeous and we LOVED this episode. So if you are tired of winter weather and want to daydream with us of warmer days ahead, let's take this journey together! Help us at the end with the questions we have by leaving us a comment. Thanks to each of YOU for watching! If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our channel, it is the BEST way to support our channel and it's FREE! Also, please click the Like button.
20p is the usual price for bathrooms in the parks, but more and more are accepting contactless debit cards/Apple Pay, definitely Central London ones such as Hyde Park and St James’, so no need to carry lots of cash
Deer 🦌 are very common throughout the UK from Red Deer in the Scottish Highlands to Fallow Deer in the south along with imported Japanese Sika Deer that escaped captivity from private estates. They are all causing overpopulation problems and have to be culled regularly as no natural predators. Providing local butchers with local Venison.
Have you ever thought about Museums and other places like that? London has one of the best collection of Museums in the World, many of which never show up on peoples travel plans
Our canals are clean thanks to volunteers nationwide keeping them that way. They do not smell and most have fish in them and ducks . A lot of people use the canals for fishing. Some toilets are free some you pay for, usually just coins. Watching your videos make me realise how much I take for granted in my country.
May get a slight smell of decomposing vegetation at certain times of the year often after a very hot period and if there has been a severe algae growth. Just the smell of nature. Not as unpleasant as living close to a livestock farm if not accustomed. Or Battersea years ago with the smell of Garton's Glucose and Price's Candle factories the 'Battersea smell' could be noticed miles away.
The canals in Britain were man-made as a transport system. They are fed from reservoirs so that the water flows down enabling the locks to work. This means the water is usually pretty clean. Venice was built in a lagoon and unfortunately has inherent problems with sewage.
As a Londoner I love our parks and live quite close to one ,Alexandra Palace or to us Londoners Ally Pally ,which is also a lovely place to go.This video has only scratched the surface of our parks and woodlands in London.Loved the video and hope one day you pair make it over to experience it for yourselves. Remember next time someone tells you they 'did' England in two weeks just laugh -you can't do London parks in 2 weeks ! Can't help with how much the toilets cost as I am disabled and they are free and I have a special key to get me in locked ones,I understand they can differ in price and some are frr.
I originate from rural North Yorkshire. I always found people telling me what to do, what not to do, where to go, where not to go, who to like, who to dislike & so on. I am really capable of making my own mind up about people, place’s, blah de blah. It was drummed into me that Londoners were to be avoided & indeed London too. No one was giving me a reason & I used to think “I’m a big boy now & quite capable of reasoning things for myself!” I joined the Royal Air Force as an apprentice when I was about 16/17 & went to the Number One School of Technical Training in Buckinghamshire. Boys from all over the country went there. Our apprentice pay was just enough to buy shoe polish, metal polish - materials needed to keep our kit in good order. For about the last six months of training it was possible to save a bit of money. Someone suggested that we go into London on the tube (underground). We found ourselves in a public house, Camden Town. Our super short haircuts gave it away that we were in the armed forces. When customers found that we were RAF trainees they treated us as if we were rock stars! That is when I realized, that those who’s advice said keep away from London, had probably never been there or even met one of these friendly people. 🙏
Great video and no, our canals don't stink and our bathrooms are called public conveniences because they don't have baths. I think the canals in Venice have improved a great deal. Dolphins were seen during the lockdown.
Hi guys! I’am fairly new to reaction video shows and finding it absolutely fascinating and kinda .. weird but very addictive! You 2 are absolutely my favourite, love exploring places, culture and nuances..(especially UK) with ya and really enjoy watching you react to our humble little corner of the world! Thank you for taking the time to try and understand our culture,history,quirks etc you’ve acutely made me want to explore the place I call home more extensively and you make me appreciate what we have here! Never been to the USA but would love to one day! Especially if the all the ‘folks’ are as lovely and warm as you guy’s come across!!! Keep up with what your doing..love it.. a massive fan x❤
What I really like about you lovely ladies is that you actually learn things, some reaction channel's seem to ask the same questions every other video.
We appreciate that! We started this for exactly that purpose, to learn. We can't speak for other channels as we don't watch any of them but we've heard what you said A LOT! Sad if that's true
When I was a student in London, I had a summer job as a Park Ranger in two north London parks. The best job ever! One amazing thing that's rarely mentioned is the number of edible plants hidden here and there - strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples, plums, pears, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, basil and plenty more to enhance a student's diet. A few years ago, I was sitting in Hyde Park daydreaming and happily watching people and flowers and birds when a woman stopped and asked for directions to somewhere. I wasn't entirely sure, but thought it was over there. I discovered later that I'd sent her in the opposite direction, but watched as she walked out of the trees and across a wide open space. As which point the Heavens opened and the unfortunate lady got a good drenching. I still have a guilty conscience about that.
Hi Ladies, another great reaction as always. As an English country boy, I have a deep mistrust of most cities and try to keep away. When forced to visit London ( as my much better half and daughter both love musicals), I always try to get a visit to one of these parks just to recharge. I think they are well worth a visit, even if just to find that little piece of equilibrium. Keep up the great work, thank you.
Hi Girls, no Londons canals do not smell. The reason for the Venice stink is that they also act as a sewer, whereas in London, the canals are completely separate from the sewerage system.
Kew Gardens is a must visit. Its like 300 acres of all kinds of amazing gardens featuring plants from all over the world. Can legit take all day to get round. Amazing at Christmas when they got the Christmas lights up!
@@georgebarnes8163 cool, I'm not familiar with that one. There's also the "Eden Project", not far from London by American traveling standards. A similar but smaller concept in the big wacky bubble greenhouses 😅
@@Lily-Bravo There are a few Eden type places all over the UK, there will be a total of four "Eden projects " in the UK in the near future including the existing site in Cornwall, these will be located in londonderry, Morecambe and Dundee.
People that don't think London is the best, do not realise that there are 652 Towns & Villages in London, all with different character and some that are so adorable and are often so pretty, with great cafes, restaurants pubs and independent shops. London isn't just the Tourist parts of zone 1. .. I mean for Christ's sake - we have 80,00 parks, 12 rivers that cover 300 miles and that's not even including the canals and lakes. You just need to get out there to see it all..! I LOVE London!
Great vid ladies. The big white house next to the canal that you liked would originally have been Victorian and all one house. Now, like many of the bigger terraced houses built in that era have been split into several flats (apartments). The canals here don't generally smell skanky. I went to actual venice a few years ago and there is a definite smell as it is literally built on water, although I was fine with the smell as its beautiful! He did not mention London Zoo which is literally in Regent's Park. Its about time you got your butts over for that visit! 😉
My younger brother balcony, overlooks the Regents Canal then across Victoria park. Also Greenwich park he mentioned the Royal Observatory, but from the Greenwich Meridian time line. You are at the crest of the hill, and the view down the to the Old Naval academy, and the river Thames is amazing.
@@johnbancroft5242 I've always loved the view from there, looking down from the old Observatory, to the Palace and Naval Academy at the bottom, and the contrast with the huge skyscrapers over the water at Canary Wharf. I also love the fact that at night, they shine a high powered green laser from the observatory along the Greenwich Meridian line to mark zero GMT.
Little Venice is a 25 min walk from say hyde park/marble arch of the Edgware road and the canal does not smell. Kew gardens are down the road from me and kew station is the tube stop before Richmond Station. Richmond park is 35 min walk, a nice walk worth doing up Richmond hill with a great view looking down and over the Thames or you can get a bus. You may even bump into some famous people. One for a connection with parks is Sir Richard Attenborough. The tube from Kew to Richmond is 4 mins. I always say your best to stay in the west of London as you are close to these places. Where I am beside the Thames in west London you are 22 mins away from the center of the West End with Chelsea, holland park, Notting hill, Knightsbridge, and the start of Kensington gardens and hyde park in between. With 9 mins to kew and 12 from Richmond
Deer tend to be quite shy in the UK. You normally only see them from a distance. They are farmed in some places and the great parks were originally royal hunting parks, where the deer all belonged to the Crown, so you're more likely to see them in those areas. I grew up in the Lake District national park and you'd only see deer on the fields and fellsides at dawn and twilight, except for one occasion when I was walking through one of our forests and came face to face with a seven pointer stag - It wasn't that large so I think it must have been a fallow deer, not a red deer. We have six species; Red, Fallow, Roe, Muntjac, Japanese Sika Deer and Chinese Water Deer.
Scotland, on the other hand, is (arguably) seriously overrun with deer, including the larget population of Red Deer in Europe. They're magnificent animals, but harmful to the environment in large numbers. They have no predators there to keep the population in check, apart from the odd posh boy with a shotgun, perhaps.
Great video ladies. My local park is Regents Park and it really is a beautiful park. When the video went to Camden, Debbie mentioned the bridge that crossed the canal, that bridge is 200 years old. Back in the day when horses pulled the barges along the canal, that is where the horses would cross. Camden Market was a horse hospital from 1854. The market is now a tourist attraction. I've often walked to work along Regents canal in the summer.
That's very interesting that Camden Market was once a horse hospital. Always wondered about it being called The Stables. Love love love the magnificent horse sculptures/bronzes inside. You are very right to recommend a visit despite its popularity. There is such a diversity of types of clothing that I adore browsing through, and the food stalls are amazing too. Haven't been able to visit for a few years now, for various health reasons, but can't wait until I'm able (as a born and bred Londoner) to visit and shop again.
Born in Camden and played along the canals, regularly bunked into London Zoo, courtesy of my older sister. Moved to Highgate and spent my childhood playing on Hampstead Heath . Summers, swimming in the Lido at Parliament Hill and my school was within the grounds of Parliament Hill. How lucky was I.
Deer Parks were created all over the country from medieval times on. This was to make it easier to hunt them. The boundaries were made so that deer could get in but not out by a ditch system. Within the Park the King or others could shoot at the deer from high points or towers, or they could ride to chase. These did keep open green spaces from being built on into modern times.
Greenwich is a hugely important place in both scientific and maritime history. In universal mapping the meridian line in Greenwich represents the Prime Meridian of the world, Longitude Zero (0° 0' 0"). Every place on the Earth is measured in terms of its angle east or west from this line. And of course Greenwich is the home of universal chronometers and Mean Time is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich counted from midnight and is therefore the base time from which all chronometers are set around the world. GMT never changes but the UK sets clocks back and forward an hour to capture the most daylight working hours.
The canals don't stink for most of the network as the toilets are either pump out or cassette,with places to dispose of them and general waste. Recommended live aboard videos are Cruising the Cut,Country House Gent and given your lifestyle,The Narrowboat Experience and The Narrowboat Pirate.
GLAD you brought back travel Wednesday's i missd it ,,,wow been to hyde park an regents park and kew gardens many many many years ago,, KEW GARDENS IS MY FAV
As someone born in central London, but now living on the south coast, I have always loved the parks. My 12yo niece spent chunks of last summer's heat in the Diana fountain cooling down. Regents Park also contains London Zoo! Odd memories include seeing Rage Against the Machine free concert in Finsbury Park (look it up, it was done for a good reason). Camden market is now too touristy, but is still worth a visit. And no, the canals don't stink, even in the middle of summer :) Oh, and most toilets/loos/rest-rooms are free, otherwise it's 50p to a £1 (cash only).
The canals do not smell. They are regularly cleaned by the waterways and volunteers. My favourite London parks are Hampstead Heath (where you may bump into a celebrity or 2!) and Hyde Park (which holds large music concerts in the summer months). Yes toilets in the Royal parks cost to use - 20p. I believe you can use contactless payment now.
As dog lovers, you'll both appreciate this: Engraved on the collar of HRH the Prince of Wales' (During Victoria's time) Dog: "I Am His Highness' Dog At Kew. Pray Tell me Sir, Whose Dog are you?" ~ Alexander Pope
In my small Town in Derbyshire England, Free Toilets are still provided by the Town Council. But to be honest just pop for a drink or coffee, and all the pubs or Cafe have free Toilets. So it's not a problem.
No, the London canals do not stink. I used to fish them and one of the problems was just how clear the water could be, that led to cormorants being able to denude the water of smaller fish. Back in the 60s You could get a fishing permit for the waters in many parks, it included the Serpentine, Pen Ponds in Richmond Park, the Long Water and the ponds at Hampton Court and Virginia Water lake in Windsor Great Park.
Hot summer of 76, rode a tandem to Pen Ponds in a bikini with my young hubby and went swimming. I came out with lot of pond life on me and never did it again!
Ahh Virginia Water and What Windsor Great Park. I lived in Datchet from a baby til my mid twenties. I spent so much of my life in Windsor great park. Horses and dogs. Perfect for both.
The vlogger missed out Bushey Park & Home Park both can be accessed from Hampton Court Palace or Kingston Bridge (river Thames), both parks were hunting grounds for King Henry VIII, Bushey park has the Diana fountain as a centre piece, home park which is directly attached to Hampton Court Palace also has a golf course which at one time was called Hampton Court Palace Golf Course, it is now Home Park golf course
Wild deer are not common in the UK. Most of the ones you see will be managed by a landowner. My employer has deer in his country estate park, but they are owned by a London restaurant owner/chef who keeps them for their meat. Squirrels live in DRAYS not nests. According to the Royal Parks website it costs just 20 pence (23 cents) to use any one of the 27 toilets within the parks. So loose change would be helpful. The canals in Venice are well known for being VERY dirty and smelly ! My son and his wife went their once and said it stunk !! There is hardly any water in the Venice canals at the moment because of very low water in some parts of Europe. Most of the Gondolas are sitting on the mud. The canals in the UK are kept clean by regular maintenance.
Whenever I go up the line to London nowadays I spend some time in St James Park, chilling out as people feed the geese, ducks, swans, coots and herons (and squirrels). All this just five minutes' walk from the Tube station!
I've been to Kew Gardens, Regents Park and Hyde Park and Kew is definitely my favorite 😍 the British really know how to do beautiful gardens and parks.
@@neilgayleard3842 Yep, The National Archives. I used to work there 😃 The botanical gardens are extremely important globally for their scientific research.
Hampstead is well worth a afternoon very few tourists, great pubs and cafes. It is beautiful relaxed, cute shops and spotting famous people is like shooting fish in a barrel.
Yeah we were there as teenagers and Sting walked past us. My brother yelled "Sting" really loud right in his ear right as he walked past because he'd just spotted him and Sting broke down laughing. Probably the best reaction he's ever had🤣🤣🤣🤣
I live near to Regent’s Canal and Victoria Park. It’s probably my favourite London park as it has a little bit of everything, as well as several pubs where you can sit outside and enjoy the sun. The canals don’t smell. They are well maintained and clear, with a good water flow. The Regents Canal runs from Limehouse Basin next to the Thames (also awesome to visit) past Mile End Park and Victoria Park before turning west and winding through Hoxton (and a great drag pub), Islington, then Kings Cross, Camden, around Regents Park and London Zoo then Little Venice and Paddington. The toilets are generally free, but busy in the summer. One reason I like Victoria Park is that I can go to the loo in one of the pubs around the edge. If you go to Kew Gardens, go on a Sunday and book a table at the Greyhound pub next to it for the best roast dinner in London. There are other great pubs nearby, as well as Kew Palace. Blackheath has my favourite fireworks display, and the walk down into Greenwich is lovely in the summer. Greenwich Market has good food, fun arts and crafts, and both Blackheath and Greenwich are lovely little towns in inner London.
My friends lives on a canal boat in Little Venice, there is beautiful canal side garden called Rembrandt's Gardens there, l use to go fishing in Little Venice when i was a kid in the 1960's. The canals are clean and are an important areas for fish and other wildlife. Little Venice is a triangular junction on The Grand Union canal that runs right from the centre of London out through West London and north to Birmingham.
I use to ride my horse in Richmond park it was fun the deers use to run from out the long grass along side the horses also I would ride round Hyde park .
I would have liked to see Dulwich Park in S.E. London mentioned. It's smaller than some of the other parks mentioned as it's only 76.2 acres. It was opened in 1890 & has a boating lake, various sports facilities, bridle paths for horses, cafes etc. No cars are allowed though. The Roseberry Gates lead to Dulwich Village, which is beautiful. Toilets in Regents Park are 20p to use. The canals don't smell. Deer are quite common, we have 6 types of deer in this country. I live on the coast & I once had a muntjac deer living amongst the fig trees in my front garden for 3 days. It would come out at night & nibble the flowers / bushes.
It's 20p to use the toilets in Royal Parks this helps to maintain and keep them open xx toilets in shopping malls are usually free but outside toilets are not xx
Can only speak for Richmond Park and Bushy Park, but they are entirely free in those 2 royal parks. A shame this video didn't mention Bushy Park, my favourite Park in London. Right next door you have Home Park which leads you to Hampton Court Palace and Gardens.
Hi Ladies, people of a certain age need to know were Toilets are and how much, firstly most cafe`s and bars have them for free however Public Toilets in and around London Parks are pay! from 20p to a £1 not come across the £2 toilets yet but they do exist! so best thing to do before setting out is carry some change specifically for this purpose! then you can relax a bit when exploring! and NONE of the canals smell however in locations were the water flow is slow, sometimes a build up of algae,weeds etc can omit a rotten smell in summer months! exactly the same if you were in Netherlands, France etc....
I grew up in Greenwich which is south London and I spent many summers on the boating pond in the park. Now I live in Kent but I still took my own children to the boating pond when they were younger. Happy memories
Kew Gardens is absolutely a must-see and great day out! For Mother’s Day last year I took my mum, you can get a boat trip from Westminster pier. The boat captain was fantastic, narrated with the history of the scenery you’re passing on the Thames, I’ve lived in London for a decade and learnt so much. There was a bar on board, and it was so beautiful to enjoy a glass of wine and watch the world go by! (I think it took about an hour, if I remember correctly? And bring cash, a little tip is suggested for the boat staff) and they drop you a short walk away from the gardens! My mum LOVED it, the gardens themselves are a FULL day out, so much to see! I can’t recommend the boat there highly enough, although more expensive and takes longer than the tube, it definitely beats being on the train on a hot summers day.
I love Vicky park ( Victoria park ) used to play there when I was a kid and lived in East London (Bow) ( now I'm 60 ! ) and do the Pride run there every year, is a lovely park. Greenwich park is lovely too - I used to run there from Home ( Bromley) when I was training for a half marathon. Battersea park is another great park - did the "Tree" Athlon there a number of times. When you finished , they gave you a tree sapling to plant - that year , my mum passed and I planted it on her grave - that was 12 years ago....It.s nearly a tree !
Most toilets in parks are free but those you pay for are normally 20p or 50p and paid by coins. If you hold the door, you normally can sneak your friends in for free. So when you come out don’t let the door close. You put the coins in the door to unlock them.
If you both ever were to come to the UK - and you'd both be most welcome to visit - the Royal Parks are just sensational; a real piece of peace, quiet, and tranquillity along with beautiful scenery!
Im a Canadian dyke just turned 70. I love your channel. I've always been addicted to London. I've gone 5 times in the last 10 years, 2 weeks each time, walked everywhere, and stayed in hostels (dorms!) all over central london. the most beautiful hostel is located within Holland Park, very near Hyde Park and Kensington Palace. Such a beautiful environment. St James Park though is my favourite over all. I'm a birder so was enthralled with the dozens of new to me types of waterfowl there. I'm so looking forward to watching this video, to revisit through your eyes, all my favourite spots in London.
..and re. Regents Canal, I used to (over 20 years ago) use it as a regular cycle route when heading east or west out of Hackney, it’s pleasurable riding away from the traffic 😊
Hi Natasha and Debbie, I LOVE watching all your videos, and so pleased that you love London and the UK so much... Keep up the great videos and hopefully will see some videos of you both in London real soon - Gary, GD travel NEWS x
I say Pergola like you do (or the other way round). Don't know where he found that pronunciation. You sometimes drive past road signs warning of deer but I have never seen one outside of parks and grand houses' parkland. Green Park at one time had a herd of cows to provide fresh milk for passing locals, which would also discourage flowers.
Yes you usually need to pay to use the toilet unless you are in a pub or restaurant. As a disabled person, most of our public toilets you need something called a radar key and recently we still have to pay. One of the toilets nearby costs £2 to use. Luckily we have a local church which allows non parishioners to use their facilities.
Growing up in Central London a walk along the canal from Regents Park and a bus ride from Hampstead Heath or Hyde Park I would say you will never be far from a green open space. The video clip failed to mention Queen Mary's Garden set within the Inner Circle of Regents Park, a rose garden which is a delight when the flowers are in bloom. Access to the London Zoo is from the Outer Circle of the park. The canal runs across the northern end of the park and Primrose Hill with its elevated view of Central London lies immediately across the canal and Prince Albert Road.
I love your channel! I’m an expat from London now living in glorious County Kerry, Ireland. Hampstead Heath is my favourite. I was a regular visitor to the Heath, many hours were spent there. The Pergola was Lord Leverhulme’s brainchild, he was the Lever Brothers soap millionaire. Many years ago I worked at Bedford College, the campus was in Regent's Park. It was then part of the University Of London. It was a women’s college, loads of young ladies and a glorious park made it a great place to work! It’s no longer part of the London University, it’s now Regent’s University for both men and women. Whenever I return to London I love to visit these places. Great nostalgia!
I am not sure why he pronounced pergola that way. I have always pronounced it the way you do. Canals do not usually smell because the water is not stagnant. There are locks and water is fed in from water sources higher up to ensure the canal levels don’t drop too low, so the water does not sit in one place for very long.
Canals don’t generally smell bad, but you can get the occasional dead spot where the water runs very slow is still in some areas, then you will get the duck weed moving in which creates a kind of bad potato smell especially in the height of summer. But these areas are few and far between. You do have a lot of wildlife around them so you will be walking and all of a sudden hit the smell off something dead that’s been killed and half eaten in a hedgerow somewhere… that’s probably what you’re friend could smell 😊
Can't wait for spring after that the daffodils are about to flower so its around the corner. The canals don't smell some have fish in them and some have supermarket carts in them. The latter is easy to catch.once upon a time canals were industrial now the majority are used for pleasure. Agree with the friends about Venice but because of the nature of the place it not quiet as stable as the UK.
My parents both came from the Richmond area, and though we moved further out when I was very young, we often went to the park. It was the place we'd usually go on Boxing Day to get over Christmas Day! And numerous family members lived in the next street over from Kew Gardens. Don't get too excited by Little Venice - it's not that much like real Venice. But the Regents Canal is fabulous. I honestly don't remember any bad smells. I felt he skipped over Greenwich Park far too quickly. For me this is the best London park, a mixture of modern and ancient, cultivated and wild. For example, he mentioned that café, but not that just a few yards away is the best view in London, from the viewing area next to the Observatory. If you google 'view from Greenwich Park' you'll see what I mean. If you can find a panoramic picture all the better, because the view is wide, from the O2 Arena in the east to the centre of London in the west. You can go tramping through ancient pathways where QE One played, and see even more views. You can goi into the planetarium and get transported into space. You can go into the Maritime Museum and see the uniform Nelson was wearing when he was shot at Trafalgar. And you can stand on the meridian line, with one foot in the eastern hemisphere and one foot in the Western. Who knows, a Greenwich slide show may be available on a certain channel . . . Sorry, could talk about Greenwich for hours, my favourite place in London. Nice video.
Agree Greenwich is lovely. The views from the observatory and one tree hill are worth the walk . Best time to go is week days, weekends are busy. Maritime museum and the painted hall are all worth a visit.
We get Deer in the UK but they aren't seen very often, they can be pretty shy here in the UK, You've got more chance to see Deer at a wild life park, they certainly don't go walking past people's windows, I wished. We have some of the most beautiful canals in the world and they definitely don't smell. I visit the canal weekly with my 7yr old daughter to feed the geese and ducks. Here's one point for you, if they'd smelled no-one would go near them . They are wonderful.
One of my favourite hidden gems in London is the Marchmont Community Garden. It’s small park or public garden but beautifully designed. Anyone visiting the Russell Sqaure area or the Brunswick shopping centre should look for it
@Natasha and Debbie - I would be remiss if I didn't mention, as a Canadian and daughter of a WW2 RCAF veteran, something the video omitted. In Green Park adjacent to Buckingham Palace are two lovely monuments. One is the memorial to Canadians who fought in WW2 and the other the Bomber Command Memorial dedicated in 2012 (Controversial and hard won by WW2 air force vets and spearheaded by, of all people, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees). At the Bomber Command Memorial there was among the floral tributes a letter saying "Thank you dad for the son you never met". 😭 One of my favorite things about London is that you can walk across most of the city in adjoining parks and feel like you aren't even in a city. A lovely video.
Ive seen a David Attenborough timelapse video of those giant lilly lads and it was amazing and must see. About 3 and half minutes. Can just check it out yourself. You wont look at them the same again 😅 "The giant water lily is VICIOUS! 😱 The Green Planet 🌱BBC"
Early last year I lead a group walk from Blackheath Station across Greenwich Park. The observatory was closed for renovation but I used the GPS on my phone for us to stand on longitude 0° at midday on the spring equinox at another point in the park. Public toilets were pay by card since Covid and if I remember correctly it was 30 pence. I guess the same would apply in the other Royal Parks.
Traditionally, public toilets had a slot machine on the cubicle doors that needed an old penny to open them. This led to the 'spending a penny' euphamism that is still in use today. On decimalisation of the currency in the 1970's it was not worth the cost of replacing the machines, so most public toilets became free to use. Nowadays, some public toilets are still free, many now charge 20p or 50p in a turnstile at the entrance, and modern 'Superloos' may cost more. The toilets in Harrods are mostly free, but a few luxury toilets were set up in the 1990's that cost £1 to use. You need coins to use public toilets. I don't know of any that accept card payment yet, but I could be wrong.
It makes me very happy ..to see you two lovely ladies enjoy the sights and history of my Home Town of London and your love of The UK ovrerall..And all done in a most excellent manner... Well done... And many thanks. Duncan James Wolfe .,👍🤓🏴🇬🇧😘
Nope the canals are NOT whiffy, not even in the summer. Well not the ones I’m surrounded by where I live in the East End, right by Victoria Park. Most of the canals connect too. Do you have locks in the US? If you do a UK canals video check out one that shows you how the lock system works. While I’m here i may as well do a couple of video suggestions: Longleat stately home AND wildlife park. OMG!!! Cornwall’s coastline and hidden gem subtropical beaches. WOW!! 😂 Transformation of London’s Docklands (there’s a drone video showing you the skyline of the Isle of Dogs, sans dogs, today just for reference. It’s stunning).😊
I live exactly halfway along the Leeds-Liverpool canal. I was once cycling along it in the hight of summer, where I went under the bridge and crashed into another cycling coming the other way. We both ended up in the canal and I can definitely say that it doesn't stink, it's clean but it's f*****g cold!
I was very lucky to live just outside Richmond Park for several years, and it was easy to walk to Kew Gardens as well. At the time it was tuppence to go in and on the way to my grandmother in laws house. We were in one park or the other or walking along the Thames every day or evening usually on the way to a pub. It was noisy with planes day and night in those days which took some getting used to. Although I loved seeing Concorde.
Venice only smells in the summer. I have been twice in March and May and it didn't smell at all. I think the tides usually flush out the smelly water, so perhaps in summer, the tides aren't as strong.
Mid Feb to Mid March Kew Gardens have orchid month in the same place as you saw the large lily pads which is bigger than it seems here. It's really good.
I now live ' up norf ' but was born over looking Vikky park ( Victoria park) and had many childhood adventures ( and mishaps) there, it looks just as I remember it was 50 years ago.
It is believed there are about 2 million wild deer in the UK. I live right at the edge of south London and I see wild deer fairly regularly in some parkland close by..
the canal boats have storage for the toilets, we also say loo, from waterloo. the boat hire co will pump them out for you so no waste goes into the canal
I was born in London and lived on the outskirts of the it and we had Epping forest at the top of the road we used to spend all our holidays there and of course at the lido ( which is not there now ). It is a lovely place just to roam around.
I'm English and I pronounce 'pergola' the same way Natasha does and everybody else here in England does too (apart from the guy in this video). And, no, the canals don't smell. They are looked after really well and are one of the best things about London if you live here (especially to get around by bike).
The canals are pretty clean and odourless. In hot weather they sometimes get overwhelmed by duckweed and then there’s a bit of algae type smell but that’s only usually doing heatwaves.
@Natasha & Debbie. You should look up Crystal Palace Park! Home of a crystal green house that hosted The Great Exhibition of 1851 and the park hosts some Victorian Dinosaurs.
No our canals don't stink but some are not that pretty, especially in industrial areas. Usually cost of toilets is about 20 pence (coin), however in London it is probably higher. London is not one of my favourite places but I have been to Hyde Park and Greenwich. Living on the outskirts of Leeds, West Yorkshire I enjoy visiting my local park in Pudsey, not huge but a nice place for an afternoon relax and visit the aviary. During summer nights there are often open air concerts (rock etc). The big park is Roundhay, Leeds with a couple of lakes, ornamental gardens and the Butterfly house where many exotic species live, they literally land on you (great for photographers). You can buy little cups of nectar to feed them. They also have reptiles, marmosets and meerkats which are cute and funny but stink. You need to dress lightly as the house has Amazonian type heat. The UK is littered with parks in cities, towns and vlllages. Every stately home has a park, the bigger ones with a deer park. Natsha you would enjoy Harewood House, not only does it have the house to visit (it is the current home of Lord and Lady Harwood) but it has a huge bird garden, mini zoo, petting corner with farm animals, a deer park, cafe and ice cream parlour.
As we have just started to look at London and we are not too far from Spring, we thought this to be the PERFECT video to check out! Who doesn't want warmer weather?! This is a list of some of the MUST SEE London parks!! So many to check out and so much to do! They are incredibly gorgeous and we LOVED this episode. So if you are tired of winter weather and want to daydream with us of warmer days ahead, let's take this journey together! Help us at the end with the questions we have by leaving us a comment. Thanks to each of YOU for watching! If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our channel, it is the BEST way to support our channel and it's FREE! Also, please click the Like button.
20p is the usual price for bathrooms in the parks, but more and more are accepting contactless debit cards/Apple Pay, definitely Central London ones such as Hyde Park and St James’, so no need to carry lots of cash
Deer 🦌 are very common throughout the UK from Red Deer in the Scottish Highlands to Fallow Deer in the south along with imported Japanese Sika Deer that escaped captivity from private estates. They are all causing overpopulation problems and have to be culled regularly as no natural predators. Providing local butchers with local Venison.
🤣🤣 yeah, don't worry - so do we pronounce it "PER-goluh" - the particular fella narrating who said "puh-GO-lah", quite simply, cocked it up!!😆
Have you ever thought about Museums and other places like that? London has one of the best collection of Museums in the World, many of which never show up on peoples travel plans
You ladies should react to green day. Fans singing bohemian rhapsody
Our canals are clean thanks to volunteers nationwide keeping them that way. They do not smell and most have fish in them and ducks . A lot of people use the canals for fishing. Some toilets are free some you pay for, usually just coins. Watching your videos make me realise how much I take for granted in my country.
♥️♥️
Sewage goes in Venice canals smells more in Summer, no Sewage in British canals
Not just volunteers, employees of the Canal & Rivers Trust amongst others depending on who owns the canal
May get a slight smell of decomposing vegetation at certain times of the year often after a very hot period and if there has been a severe algae growth. Just the smell of nature. Not as unpleasant as living close to a livestock farm if not accustomed. Or Battersea years ago with the smell of Garton's Glucose and Price's Candle factories the 'Battersea smell' could be noticed miles away.
They're not so bad now all the dead bodies wearing concrete wellies have been removed...
Pergola - I'm a Brit, and everyone I know pronounces it like you!
The canals in Britain were man-made as a transport system. They are fed from reservoirs so that the water flows down enabling the locks to work. This means the water is usually pretty clean.
Venice was built in a lagoon and unfortunately has inherent problems with sewage.
As a Londoner I love our parks and live quite close to one ,Alexandra Palace or to us Londoners Ally Pally ,which is also a lovely place to go.This video has only scratched the surface of our parks and woodlands in London.Loved the video and hope one day you pair make it over to experience it for yourselves. Remember next time someone tells you they 'did' England in two weeks just laugh -you can't do London parks in 2 weeks !
Can't help with how much the toilets cost as I am disabled and they are free and I have a special key to get me in locked ones,I understand they can differ in price and some are frr.
I'm surprised it wasn't featured
I originate from rural North Yorkshire. I always found people telling me what to do, what not to do, where to go, where not to go, who to like, who to dislike & so on. I am really capable of making my own mind up about people, place’s, blah de blah. It was drummed into me that Londoners were to be avoided & indeed London too. No one was giving me a reason & I used to think “I’m a big boy now & quite capable of reasoning things for myself!”
I joined the Royal Air Force as an apprentice when I was about 16/17 & went to the Number One School of Technical Training in Buckinghamshire. Boys from all over the country went there. Our apprentice pay was just enough to buy shoe polish, metal polish - materials needed to keep our kit in good order. For about the last six months of training it was possible to save a bit of money. Someone suggested that we go into London on the tube (underground). We found ourselves in a public house, Camden Town. Our super short haircuts gave it away that we were in the armed forces. When customers found that we were RAF trainees they treated us as if we were rock stars!
That is when I realized, that those who’s advice said keep away from London, had probably never been there or even met one of these friendly people. 🙏
Great video and no, our canals don't stink and our bathrooms are called public conveniences because they don't have baths. I think the canals in Venice have improved a great deal. Dolphins were seen during the lockdown.
Hi guys! I’am fairly new to reaction video shows and finding it absolutely fascinating and kinda .. weird but very addictive! You 2 are absolutely my favourite, love exploring places, culture and nuances..(especially UK) with ya and really enjoy watching you react to our humble little corner of the world! Thank you for taking the time to try and understand our culture,history,quirks etc you’ve acutely made me want to explore the place I call home more extensively and you make me appreciate what we have here! Never been to the USA but would love to one day! Especially if the all the ‘folks’ are as lovely and warm as you guy’s come across!!! Keep up with what your doing..love it.. a massive fan x❤
What I really like about you lovely ladies is that you actually learn things, some reaction channel's seem to ask the same questions every other video.
We appreciate that! We started this for exactly that purpose, to learn. We can't speak for other channels as we don't watch any of them but we've heard what you said A LOT! Sad if that's true
When I was a student in London, I had a summer job as a Park Ranger in two north London parks. The best job ever! One amazing thing that's rarely mentioned is the number of edible plants hidden here and there - strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples, plums, pears, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, basil and plenty more to enhance a student's diet. A few years ago, I was sitting in Hyde Park daydreaming and happily watching people and flowers and birds when a woman stopped and asked for directions to somewhere. I wasn't entirely sure, but thought it was over there. I discovered later that I'd sent her in the opposite direction, but watched as she walked out of the trees and across a wide open space. As which point the Heavens opened and the unfortunate lady got a good drenching. I still have a guilty conscience about that.
At least she wasn't struck by lightning!
Hi Ladies, another great reaction as always. As an English country boy, I have a deep mistrust of most cities and try to keep away. When forced to visit London ( as my much better half and daughter both love musicals), I always try to get a visit to one of these parks just to recharge. I think they are well worth a visit, even if just to find that little piece of equilibrium. Keep up the great work, thank you.
Hi Girls, no Londons canals do not smell. The reason for the Venice stink is that they also act as a sewer, whereas in London, the canals are completely separate from the sewerage system.
Kew Gardens is a must visit. Its like 300 acres of all kinds of amazing gardens featuring plants from all over the world. Can legit take all day to get round. Amazing at Christmas when they got the Christmas lights up!
Belfast has similar Garden called Botanic Gardens with a very similar but larger Palm house
@@georgebarnes8163 cool, I'm not familiar with that one. There's also the "Eden Project", not far from London by American traveling standards. A similar but smaller concept in the big wacky bubble greenhouses 😅
@@wildwine6400 That is in Cornwall. maybe not far by American standards but for us it is the other side of the country.
@@Lily-BravoI know! I laughed out loud at not far from London 😄
@@Lily-Bravo There are a few Eden type places all over the UK, there will be a total of four "Eden projects " in the UK in the near future including the existing site in Cornwall, these will be located in londonderry, Morecambe and Dundee.
People that don't think London is the best, do not realise that there are 652 Towns & Villages in London, all with different character and some that are so adorable and are often so pretty, with great cafes, restaurants pubs and independent shops. London isn't just the Tourist parts of zone 1. .. I mean for Christ's sake - we have 80,00 parks, 12 rivers that cover 300 miles and that's not even including the canals and lakes. You just need to get out there to see it all..! I LOVE London!
Great vid ladies. The big white house next to the canal that you liked would originally have been Victorian and all one house. Now, like many of the bigger terraced houses built in that era have been split into several flats (apartments). The canals here don't generally smell skanky. I went to actual venice a few years ago and there is a definite smell as it is literally built on water, although I was fine with the smell as its beautiful!
He did not mention London Zoo which is literally in Regent's Park. Its about time you got your butts over for that visit! 😉
WANT that house!!!!
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow I was also about to mention that London Zoo is in Regents park also Battersea park has a small zoo.
My younger brother balcony, overlooks the Regents Canal then across Victoria park. Also Greenwich park he mentioned the Royal Observatory, but from the Greenwich Meridian time line. You are at the crest of the hill, and the view down the to the Old Naval academy, and the river Thames is amazing.
@@johnbancroft5242 I've always loved the view from there, looking down from the old Observatory, to the Palace and Naval Academy at the bottom, and the contrast with the huge skyscrapers over the water at Canary Wharf. I also love the fact that at night, they shine a high powered green laser from the observatory along the Greenwich Meridian line to mark zero GMT.
Little Venice is a 25 min walk from say hyde park/marble arch of the Edgware road and the canal does not smell. Kew gardens are down the road from me and kew station is the tube stop before Richmond Station. Richmond park is 35 min walk, a nice walk worth doing up Richmond hill with a great view looking down and over the Thames or you can get a bus. You may even bump into some famous people. One for a connection with parks is Sir Richard Attenborough. The tube from Kew to Richmond is 4 mins. I always say your best to stay in the west of London as you are close to these places. Where I am beside the Thames in west London you are 22 mins away from the center of the West End with Chelsea, holland park, Notting hill, Knightsbridge, and the start of Kensington gardens and hyde park in between. With 9 mins to kew and 12 from Richmond
Loved this one. I spent much of my childhood in either Richmond Park or Kew Gardens. Sweet, nostalgic, thank you.
No, thank you for watching ♥️♥️
Deer tend to be quite shy in the UK. You normally only see them from a distance. They are farmed in some places and the great parks were originally royal hunting parks, where the deer all belonged to the Crown, so you're more likely to see them in those areas.
I grew up in the Lake District national park and you'd only see deer on the fields and fellsides at dawn and twilight, except for one occasion when I was walking through one of our forests and came face to face with a seven pointer stag - It wasn't that large so I think it must have been a fallow deer, not a red deer. We have six species; Red, Fallow, Roe, Muntjac, Japanese Sika Deer and Chinese Water Deer.
Hiya, I think there's a Deer farm in Silloth
Scotland, on the other hand, is (arguably) seriously overrun with deer, including the larget population of Red Deer in Europe. They're magnificent animals, but harmful to the environment in large numbers. They have no predators there to keep the population in check, apart from the odd posh boy with a shotgun, perhaps.
Great video ladies. My local park is Regents Park and it really is a beautiful park. When the video went to Camden, Debbie mentioned the bridge that crossed the canal, that bridge is 200 years old. Back in the day when horses pulled the barges along the canal, that is where the horses would cross. Camden Market was a horse hospital from 1854. The market is now a tourist attraction. I've often walked to work along Regents canal in the summer.
That's very interesting that Camden Market was once a horse hospital. Always wondered about it being called The Stables. Love love love the magnificent horse sculptures/bronzes inside. You are very right to recommend a visit despite its popularity. There is such a diversity of types of clothing that I adore browsing through, and the food stalls are amazing too. Haven't been able to visit for a few years now, for various health reasons, but can't wait until I'm able (as a born and bred Londoner) to visit and shop again.
Born in Camden and played along the canals, regularly bunked into London Zoo, courtesy of my older sister. Moved to Highgate and spent my childhood playing on Hampstead Heath . Summers, swimming in the Lido at Parliament Hill and my school was within the grounds of Parliament Hill. How lucky was I.
Deer Parks were created all over the country from medieval times on. This was to make it easier to hunt them. The boundaries were made so that deer could get in but not out by a ditch system. Within the Park the King or others could shoot at the deer from
high points or towers, or they could ride to chase. These did keep open green spaces from being built on into modern times.
Greenwich is a hugely important place in both scientific and maritime history.
In universal mapping the meridian line in Greenwich represents the Prime Meridian of the world, Longitude Zero (0° 0' 0"). Every place on the Earth is measured in terms of its angle east or west from this line.
And of course Greenwich is the home of universal chronometers and Mean Time is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich counted from midnight and is therefore the base time from which all chronometers are set around the world. GMT never changes but the UK sets clocks back and forward an hour to capture the most daylight working hours.
Love you girls watch everything you do you love the British and we love you too come live here
Hiya girls Richard the London black cab driver here. I live right on top Hampstead heath and it's 800 acres of pure beauty. All the best girls x
The canals don't stink for most of the network as the toilets are either pump out or cassette,with places to dispose of them and general waste.
Recommended live aboard videos are Cruising the Cut,Country House Gent and given your lifestyle,The Narrowboat Experience and The Narrowboat Pirate.
It's a generalisation,but brits tend to put emphasis on the 2nd part of words,American folk the 1st half as regards "Pergola" for example 🎩
GLAD you brought back travel Wednesday's i missd it ,,,wow been to hyde park an regents park and kew gardens many many many years ago,, KEW GARDENS IS MY FAV
As someone born in central London, but now living on the south coast, I have always loved the parks. My 12yo niece spent chunks of last summer's heat in the Diana fountain cooling down. Regents Park also contains London Zoo! Odd memories include seeing Rage Against the Machine free concert in Finsbury Park (look it up, it was done for a good reason).
Camden market is now too touristy, but is still worth a visit.
And no, the canals don't stink, even in the middle of summer :)
Oh, and most toilets/loos/rest-rooms are free, otherwise it's 50p to a £1 (cash only).
Camden itself is a bit too wacky these days, ever since the 90s every time I go there people try to flog me wacky backy.
The canals do not smell. They are regularly cleaned by the waterways and volunteers.
My favourite London parks are Hampstead Heath (where you may bump into a celebrity or 2!) and Hyde Park (which holds large music concerts in the summer months).
Yes toilets in the Royal parks cost to use - 20p. I believe you can use contactless payment now.
As dog lovers, you'll both appreciate this: Engraved on the collar of HRH the Prince of Wales' (During Victoria's time) Dog: "I Am His Highness' Dog At Kew. Pray Tell me Sir, Whose Dog are you?" ~ Alexander Pope
In my small Town in Derbyshire England, Free Toilets are still provided by the Town Council. But to be honest just pop for a drink or coffee, and all the pubs or Cafe have free Toilets. So it's not a problem.
Thanks!
No, the London canals do not stink. I used to fish them and one of the problems was just how clear the water could be, that led to cormorants being able to denude the water of smaller fish.
Back in the 60s You could get a fishing permit for the waters in many parks, it included the Serpentine, Pen Ponds in Richmond Park, the Long Water and the ponds at Hampton Court and Virginia Water lake in Windsor Great Park.
Hot summer of 76, rode a tandem to Pen Ponds in a bikini with my young hubby and went swimming. I came out with lot of pond life on me and never did it again!
@@Lily-Bravo That was in '76, different now...
Ahh Virginia Water and What Windsor Great Park. I lived in Datchet from a baby til my mid twenties. I spent so much of my life in Windsor great park. Horses and dogs. Perfect for both.
That building that you saw at Buckingham Palace where the eating area was is the palace swimming pool
The vlogger missed out Bushey Park & Home Park both can be accessed from Hampton Court Palace or Kingston Bridge (river Thames), both parks were hunting grounds for King Henry VIII, Bushey park has the Diana fountain as a centre piece, home park which is directly attached to Hampton Court Palace also has a golf course which at one time was called Hampton Court Palace Golf Course, it is now Home Park golf course
Wonderful parks and so much to do in each
Wild deer are not common in the UK. Most of the ones you see will be managed by a landowner. My employer has deer in his country estate park, but they are owned by a London restaurant owner/chef who keeps them for their meat.
Squirrels live in DRAYS not nests.
According to the Royal Parks website it costs just 20 pence (23 cents) to use any one of the 27 toilets within the parks. So loose change would be helpful.
The canals in Venice are well known for being VERY dirty and smelly ! My son and his wife went their once and said it stunk !! There is hardly any water in the Venice canals at the moment because of very low water in some parts of Europe. Most of the Gondolas are sitting on the mud.
The canals in the UK are kept clean by regular maintenance.
Whenever I go up the line to London nowadays I spend some time in St James Park, chilling out as people feed the geese, ducks, swans, coots and herons (and squirrels). All this just five minutes' walk from the Tube station!
I've been to Kew Gardens, Regents Park and Hyde Park and Kew is definitely my favorite 😍 the British really know how to do beautiful gardens and parks.
Totally agree!
Kew is also the home of the national records office. So you can check out your family history while you are there.
@@neilgayleard3842 Now that is COOL!!!
@@neilgayleard3842 Yep, The National Archives. I used to work there 😃 The botanical gardens are extremely important globally for their scientific research.
I’ve been to Venice in May & September. The canals didn’t smell then. I believe it does in the summer.
Hampstead is well worth a afternoon very few tourists, great pubs and cafes. It is beautiful relaxed, cute shops and spotting famous people is like shooting fish in a barrel.
Looks incredible 😍 thanks for the info!!
Yeah we were there as teenagers and Sting walked past us. My brother yelled "Sting" really loud right in his ear right as he walked past because he'd just spotted him and Sting broke down laughing. Probably the best reaction he's ever had🤣🤣🤣🤣
May have mentioned having been a student in London and live nearby now.
Still finding new views with all of your vids.
I live near to Regent’s Canal and Victoria Park. It’s probably my favourite London park as it has a little bit of everything, as well as several pubs where you can sit outside and enjoy the sun.
The canals don’t smell. They are well maintained and clear, with a good water flow. The Regents Canal runs from Limehouse Basin next to the Thames (also awesome to visit) past Mile End Park and Victoria Park before turning west and winding through Hoxton (and a great drag pub), Islington, then Kings Cross, Camden, around Regents Park and London Zoo then Little Venice and Paddington.
The toilets are generally free, but busy in the summer. One reason I like Victoria Park is that I can go to the loo in one of the pubs around the edge.
If you go to Kew Gardens, go on a Sunday and book a table at the Greyhound pub next to it for the best roast dinner in London. There are other great pubs nearby, as well as Kew Palace.
Blackheath has my favourite fireworks display, and the walk down into Greenwich is lovely in the summer. Greenwich Market has good food, fun arts and crafts, and both Blackheath and Greenwich are lovely little towns in inner London.
Absolutely love Victoria Park, the best in London imho
My friends lives on a canal boat in Little Venice, there is beautiful canal side garden called Rembrandt's Gardens there, l use to go fishing in Little Venice when i was a kid in the 1960's. The canals are clean and are an important areas for fish and other wildlife. Little Venice is a triangular junction on The Grand Union canal that runs right from the centre of London out through West London and north to Birmingham.
Griffin Tazza was installed in 1863 by William Andrews Nesfield.
I use to ride my horse in Richmond park it was fun the deers use to run from out the long grass along side the horses
also I would ride round Hyde park .
I would have liked to see Dulwich Park in S.E. London mentioned. It's smaller than some of the other parks mentioned as it's only 76.2 acres. It was opened in 1890 & has a boating lake, various sports facilities, bridle paths for horses, cafes etc. No cars are allowed though. The Roseberry Gates lead to Dulwich Village, which is beautiful. Toilets in Regents Park are 20p to use. The canals don't smell. Deer are quite common, we have 6 types of deer in this country. I live on the coast & I once had a muntjac deer living amongst the fig trees in my front garden for 3 days. It would come out at night & nibble the flowers / bushes.
It's 20p to use the toilets in Royal Parks this helps to maintain and keep them open xx toilets in shopping malls are usually free but outside toilets are not xx
Thank you!
Can only speak for Richmond Park and Bushy Park, but they are entirely free in those 2 royal parks.
A shame this video didn't mention Bushy Park, my favourite Park in London. Right next door you have Home Park which leads you to Hampton Court Palace and Gardens.
Hi Ladies, people of a certain age need to know were Toilets are and how much, firstly most cafe`s and bars have them for free however Public Toilets in and around London Parks are pay! from 20p to a £1 not come across the £2 toilets yet but they do exist! so best thing to do before setting out is carry some change specifically for this purpose! then you can relax a bit when exploring! and NONE of the canals smell however in locations were the water flow is slow, sometimes a build up of algae,weeds etc can omit a rotten smell in summer months! exactly the same if you were in Netherlands, France etc....
I grew up in Greenwich which is south London and I spent many summers on the boating pond in the park. Now I live in Kent but I still took my own children to the boating pond when they were younger. Happy memories
Kew Gardens is absolutely a must-see and great day out! For Mother’s Day last year I took my mum, you can get a boat trip from Westminster pier. The boat captain was fantastic, narrated with the history of the scenery you’re passing on the Thames, I’ve lived in London for a decade and learnt so much. There was a bar on board, and it was so beautiful to enjoy a glass of wine and watch the world go by! (I think it took about an hour, if I remember correctly? And bring cash, a little tip is suggested for the boat staff) and they drop you a short walk away from the gardens! My mum LOVED it, the gardens themselves are a FULL day out, so much to see! I can’t recommend the boat there highly enough, although more expensive and takes longer than the tube, it definitely beats being on the train on a hot summers day.
In the uk we have a tv program called a year at Kew, following the RHS's work with students and conservation of world plant species.
I love Vicky park ( Victoria park ) used to play there when I was a kid and lived in East London (Bow) ( now I'm 60 ! ) and do the Pride run there every year, is a lovely park. Greenwich park is lovely too - I used to run there from Home ( Bromley) when I was training for a half marathon. Battersea park is another great park - did the "Tree" Athlon there a number of times. When you finished , they gave you a tree sapling to plant - that year , my mum passed and I planted it on her grave - that was 12 years ago....It.s nearly a tree !
I was at the free Queen concert in Hyde Park 1976. I was 14 at the time.😀
You are two lovely ladies. And no canals are not stinky!😂
Most toilets in parks are free but those you pay for are normally 20p or 50p and paid by coins. If you hold the door, you normally can sneak your friends in for free. So when you come out don’t let the door close. You put the coins in the door to unlock them.
Greenwich Park >>
Didn't mention arguably the best skyline viewpoint in London, or that its the site of the Prime Meridian/Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
If you both ever were to come to the UK - and you'd both be most welcome to visit - the Royal Parks are just sensational; a real piece of peace, quiet, and tranquillity along with beautiful scenery!
Im a Canadian dyke just turned 70. I love your channel. I've always been addicted to London. I've gone 5 times in the last 10 years, 2 weeks each time, walked everywhere, and stayed in hostels (dorms!) all over central london. the most beautiful hostel is located within Holland Park, very near Hyde Park and Kensington Palace. Such a beautiful environment. St James Park though is my favourite over all. I'm a birder so was enthralled with the dozens of new to me types of waterfowl there. I'm so looking forward to watching this video, to revisit through your eyes, all my favourite spots in London.
Re. graffiti, I don’t enjoy ‘tags’ but if Banksy were to come and decorate my wall I’d be overjoyed! 😃
..and re. Regents Canal, I used to (over 20 years ago) use it as a regular cycle route when heading east or west out of Hackney, it’s pleasurable riding away from the traffic 😊
…and 20 years ago Regents Canal was a stink free zone generally
You'd also be rich if you cut the wall out and sold it!
Hi Natasha and Debbie, I LOVE watching all your videos, and so pleased that you love London and the UK so much... Keep up the great videos and hopefully will see some videos of you both in London real soon - Gary, GD travel NEWS x
I say Pergola like you do (or the other way round). Don't know where he found that pronunciation. You sometimes drive past road signs warning of deer but I have never seen one outside of parks and grand houses' parkland. Green Park at one time had a herd of cows to provide fresh milk for passing locals, which would also discourage flowers.
Yes you usually need to pay to use the toilet unless you are in a pub or restaurant. As a disabled person, most of our public toilets you need something called a radar key and recently we still have to pay. One of the toilets nearby costs £2 to use. Luckily we have a local church which allows non parishioners to use their facilities.
Growing up in Central London a walk along the canal from Regents Park and a bus ride from Hampstead Heath or Hyde Park I would say you will never be far from a green open space. The video clip failed to mention Queen Mary's Garden set within the Inner Circle of Regents Park, a rose garden
which is a delight when the flowers are in bloom. Access to the London Zoo is from the Outer Circle of the park. The canal runs across the northern end of the park and Primrose Hill with its elevated view of Central London lies immediately across the canal and Prince Albert Road.
I have visited Buckingham Palace for a tour,beautiful place to visit,and Kew gardens is gorgeous thanx for the video reaction.
I love your channel! I’m an expat from London now living in glorious County Kerry, Ireland.
Hampstead Heath is my favourite. I was a regular visitor to the Heath, many hours were spent there.
The Pergola was Lord Leverhulme’s brainchild, he was the Lever Brothers soap millionaire. Many years ago I worked at Bedford College, the campus was in Regent's Park. It was then part of the University Of London. It was a women’s college, loads of young ladies and a glorious park made it a great place to work! It’s no longer part of the London University, it’s now Regent’s University for both men and women. Whenever I return to London I love to visit these places. Great nostalgia!
I am not sure why he pronounced pergola that way. I have always pronounced it the way you do. Canals do not usually smell because the water is not stagnant. There are locks and water is fed in from water sources higher up to ensure the canal levels don’t drop too low, so the water does not sit in one place for very long.
Canals don’t generally smell bad, but you can get the occasional dead spot where the water runs very slow is still in some areas, then you will get the duck weed moving in which creates a kind of bad potato smell especially in the height of summer. But these areas are few and far between. You do have a lot of wildlife around them so you will be walking and all of a sudden hit the smell off something dead that’s been killed and half eaten in a hedgerow somewhere… that’s probably what you’re friend could smell 😊
Can't wait for spring after that the daffodils are about to flower so its around the corner. The canals don't smell some have fish in them and some have supermarket carts in them. The latter is easy to catch.once upon a time canals were industrial now the majority are used for pleasure. Agree with the friends about Venice but because of the nature of the place it not quiet as stable as the UK.
We have travelled most of the canals in the UK on our narrow boat and NO they don't smell
My parents both came from the Richmond area, and though we moved further out when I was very young, we often went to the park. It was the place we'd usually go on Boxing Day to get over Christmas Day! And numerous family members lived in the next street over from Kew Gardens.
Don't get too excited by Little Venice - it's not that much like real Venice. But the Regents Canal is fabulous. I honestly don't remember any bad smells.
I felt he skipped over Greenwich Park far too quickly. For me this is the best London park, a mixture of modern and ancient, cultivated and wild. For example, he mentioned that café, but not that just a few yards away is the best view in London, from the viewing area next to the Observatory. If you google 'view from Greenwich Park' you'll see what I mean. If you can find a panoramic picture all the better, because the view is wide, from the O2 Arena in the east to the centre of London in the west. You can go tramping through ancient pathways where QE One played, and see even more views. You can goi into the planetarium and get transported into space. You can go into the Maritime Museum and see the uniform Nelson was wearing when he was shot at Trafalgar. And you can stand on the meridian line, with one foot in the eastern hemisphere and one foot in the Western. Who knows, a Greenwich slide show may be available on a certain channel . . .
Sorry, could talk about Greenwich for hours, my favourite place in London.
Nice video.
Agree Greenwich is lovely. The views from the observatory and one tree hill are worth the walk . Best time to go is week days, weekends are busy. Maritime museum and the painted hall are all worth a visit.
The equestrian events at the Olympics were held there and the view of the Queen’s House from the stadium was beautiful.
I lived in Teddington until recently, we used to go over to Richmond Park every Sunday for a stroll.
We get Deer in the UK but they aren't seen very often, they can be pretty shy here in the UK, You've got more chance to see Deer at a wild life park, they certainly don't go walking past people's windows, I wished. We have some of the most beautiful canals in the world and they definitely don't smell. I visit the canal weekly with my 7yr old daughter to feed the geese and ducks. Here's one point for you, if they'd smelled no-one would go near them . They are wonderful.
One of my favourite hidden gems in London is the Marchmont Community Garden. It’s small park or public garden but beautifully designed. Anyone visiting the Russell Sqaure area or the Brunswick shopping centre should look for it
Russell Square - for before and after exams!
@@Tom-xy9yy yeah Russell Square is lovely too. My daughter is a student in London so I’ve explored the area a lot
@Natasha and Debbie -
I would be remiss if I didn't mention, as a Canadian and daughter of a WW2 RCAF veteran, something the video omitted. In Green Park adjacent to Buckingham Palace are two lovely monuments. One is the memorial to Canadians who fought in WW2 and the other the Bomber Command Memorial dedicated in 2012 (Controversial and hard won by WW2 air force vets and spearheaded by, of all people, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees). At the Bomber Command Memorial there was among the floral tributes a letter saying "Thank you dad for the son you never met". 😭
One of my favorite things about London is that you can walk across most of the city in adjoining parks and feel like you aren't even in a city. A lovely video.
Ive seen a David Attenborough timelapse video of those giant lilly lads and it was amazing and must see. About 3 and half minutes. Can just check it out yourself. You wont look at them the same again 😅 "The giant water lily is VICIOUS! 😱 The Green Planet 🌱BBC"
When you mentioned Pergola reminded me of a guy i used to work with called a gazebo a gaz-eebo!
Early last year I lead a group walk from Blackheath Station across Greenwich Park. The observatory was closed for renovation but I used the GPS on my phone for us to stand on longitude 0° at midday on the spring equinox at another point in the park. Public toilets were pay by card since Covid and if I remember correctly it was 30 pence. I guess the same would apply in the other Royal Parks.
Traditionally, public toilets had a slot machine on the cubicle doors that needed an old penny to open them. This led to the 'spending a penny' euphamism that is still in use today. On decimalisation of the currency in the 1970's it was not worth the cost of replacing the machines, so most public toilets became free to use. Nowadays, some public toilets are still free, many now charge 20p or 50p in a turnstile at the entrance, and modern 'Superloos' may cost more. The toilets in Harrods are mostly free, but a few luxury toilets were set up in the 1990's that cost £1 to use. You need coins to use public toilets. I don't know of any that accept card payment yet, but I could be wrong.
It makes me very happy ..to see you two lovely ladies enjoy the sights and history of my Home Town of London and your love of The UK ovrerall..And all done in a most excellent manner...
Well done...
And many thanks.
Duncan James Wolfe .,👍🤓🏴🇬🇧😘
Nope the canals are NOT whiffy, not even in the summer. Well not the ones I’m surrounded by where I live in the East End, right by Victoria Park.
Most of the canals connect too. Do you have locks in the US? If you do a UK canals video check out one that shows you how the lock system works.
While I’m here i may as well do a couple of video suggestions:
Longleat stately home AND wildlife park. OMG!!!
Cornwall’s coastline and hidden gem subtropical beaches. WOW!! 😂
Transformation of London’s Docklands (there’s a drone video showing you the skyline of the Isle of Dogs, sans dogs, today just for reference. It’s stunning).😊
I live exactly halfway along the Leeds-Liverpool canal. I was once cycling along it in the hight of summer, where I went under the bridge and crashed into another cycling coming the other way. We both ended up in the canal and I can definitely say that it doesn't stink, it's clean but it's f*****g cold!
You can also visit London zoo via Regents park, No the canals don't stink!
I was very lucky to live just outside Richmond Park for several years, and it was easy to walk to Kew Gardens as well. At the time it was tuppence to go in and on the way to my grandmother in laws house. We were in one park or the other or walking along the Thames every day or evening usually on the way to a pub. It was noisy with planes day and night in those days which took some getting used to. Although I loved seeing Concorde.
Because of the vast number of trees in London ( my beloved home city) it is officially designated an Urban Forest
Venice only smells in the summer. I have been twice in March and May and it didn't smell at all. I think the tides usually flush out the smelly water, so perhaps in summer, the tides aren't as strong.
Mid Feb to Mid March Kew Gardens have orchid month in the same place as you saw the large lily pads which is bigger than it seems here. It's really good.
I now live ' up norf ' but was born over looking Vikky park ( Victoria park) and had many childhood adventures ( and mishaps) there, it looks just as I remember it was 50 years ago.
Ladies- there are so many elements of the uk especially London which you are both unaware of.
Reg
Phil- London x
Hi The canals do not smell. But they sometimes go through industrial areas that can give off smells.
It is believed there are about 2 million wild deer in the UK. I live right at the edge of south London and I see wild deer fairly regularly in some parkland close by..
the canal boats have storage for the toilets, we also say loo, from waterloo. the boat hire co will pump them out for you so no waste goes into the canal
Happy anniversary 🎉🎉❤️
I am impressed you regognized Kew Gardens in a second.
I was born in London and lived on the outskirts of the it and we had Epping forest at the top of the road we used to spend all our holidays there and of course at the lido ( which is not there now ). It is a lovely place just to roam around.
I'm English and I pronounce 'pergola' the same way Natasha does and everybody else here in England does too (apart from the guy in this video). And, no, the canals don't smell. They are looked after really well and are one of the best things about London if you live here (especially to get around by bike).
I went to see The Tempest at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. You could hear the animals in the zoo when the wind was in the right direction.
The canals are pretty clean and odourless. In hot weather they sometimes get overwhelmed by duckweed and then there’s a bit of algae type smell but that’s only usually doing heatwaves.
Near to Richmond Park is Bushey Park which is another deer park. It is also convenient for Kingston-upon-Thames and Hampton Court Palace.
@Natasha & Debbie. You should look up Crystal Palace Park! Home of a crystal green house that hosted The Great Exhibition of 1851 and the park hosts some Victorian Dinosaurs.
There’s quite a few Italians in Wales, and Scotland, running ice cream shops
No our canals don't stink but some are not that pretty, especially in industrial areas. Usually cost of toilets is about 20 pence (coin), however in London it is probably higher. London is not one of my favourite places but I have been to Hyde Park and Greenwich. Living on the outskirts of Leeds, West Yorkshire I enjoy visiting my local park in Pudsey, not huge but a nice place for an afternoon relax and visit the aviary. During summer nights there are often open air concerts (rock etc). The big park is Roundhay, Leeds with a couple of lakes, ornamental gardens and the Butterfly house where many exotic species live, they literally land on you (great for photographers). You can buy little cups of nectar to feed them. They also have reptiles, marmosets and meerkats which are cute and funny but stink. You need to dress lightly as the house has Amazonian type heat. The UK is littered with parks in cities, towns and vlllages. Every stately home has a park, the bigger ones with a deer park. Natsha you would enjoy Harewood House, not only does it have the house to visit (it is the current home of Lord and Lady Harwood) but it has a huge bird garden, mini zoo, petting corner with farm animals, a deer park, cafe and ice cream parlour.