Royal parks

St James's Park Lake in Westminster, looking east from the Blue Bridge towards the London Eye.

Main article: Royal Parks of London

The centrepieces of London's park system are the eight Royal Parks of London. Covering 1976 hectares,^[1] they are former royal hunting grounds which are now open to the public. Four of these — Green Park (16 ha), St. James's Park (34 ha), Hyde Park (140 ha), and Kensington Gardens (111 ha) — form a green strand through the western side of the city centre, whilst a fifth, Regent's Park (197 ha) is just to the north. The remaining three Royal Parks are in the suburbs — Greenwich Park (73 ha) to the south east, and Bushy Park (450 ha) and Richmond Park (955 ha) to the south west.

Garden squares