Explore Battersea Park, London

View of Battersea Power Station from Battersea Park

The site of Battersea Park was formerly known as Battersea Fields, part of the ground was used for market gardens. Much of the land was a marshy waste reclaimed from the river Thames in the C16th and later used for pigeon shooting, fayres, donkey racing and other amusements. The famous duel between the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchelsea took place in the park in 1829. In 1846, an act authorised the purchase by H.M. Office of Works of 320 acres in Battersea Fields for a public park. As you can see in the picture above the park has a lovely cafe serving tea and coffee but also warm paninis and scrummy icecream. There were plenty of picnic benches and we enjoyed our tea as we saw children and adults alike happily whizz past on low three wheeled bikes which you can hire in the park.

The Pump House, Battersea Park

In 1835 Battersea Park's first Superintendent John Gibson was sent to India by the Duke of Devonshire hunting for Orchids. The journey took Gibson through Madeira and South Africa.   The Sub-Tropical Gardens in Battersea Park were created in 1863 and were the first public Sub-Tropical Gardens in the country. The gardens attracted immediate attention due to their show-stopping colours, gigantic leaves and unusual plants.
 Gibson brought both plants and ideas back to England and at Battersea created a mixture of exotic plants and colourful 'carpet' bedding that started a fashion that swept across England and can still be seen in gardens today. The Sub-Tropical Garden remained a feature in the Park until WWII and when many of the gardeners went to war much of the Park became allotment gardens to help feed local people. When we walked through the park some new palm trees have been planted and was looking lovely. Thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund the gardens were restored to their original designs in 2004.
We had a picnic in the sunshine by the pagoda and saw Felicity Kendal (Good Life and Rosemary & Thyme) walking her very happy Spaniel. We spent a number of hours in Battersea Park and were bemused by the vast number of joggers we saw during our stay. Felt rather lazy getting the 44 bus to Victoria afterwards - should have joined the jogging club! If you are planning to jog round the park or take it at a slower pace (like we did) this map can help when plotting out your route and the distance.
Battersea Park has a lot to offer for any history buff, sports fanatic or botanical lover. See a map of Battersea Park to plan your visit.

Albert Bridge, London

When walking to the North West corner of Battersea Park you will see a very prettily painted bridge. The Albert Bridge is a Grade II listed road bridge over the river Thames and connects Battersea to Chelsea.Nicknamed "The Trembling Lady" because of its tendency to vibrate when large numbers of people walked over it, signs at the entrances warn troops from the nearby Chelsea Barracks to break step when crossing the bridge. (Sound similar to the Millenium Bridge at all?!). In 1992 Albert Bridge was rewired and painted in an unusual colour scheme designed to make it more conspicuous in poor visibility, and hence avoid being damaged by collisions with shipping. At night it is illuminated by 4,000 bulbs, making it one of West London's most striking landmarks. 
If you are wanting to extend your walk, walk past the Albert Bridge and continue on the South bank to Battersea Bridge, cross over and return to the Albert Bridge on the North bank before crossing over the pretty bridge and back to Battersea Park. 
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