I just went for a nice walk in West Ham Park near our house. It was a nice and sunny day (according to my wife), I prefer dark, gloomy and rainy weather. 😂 Anyways, wifey went for her morning run while I strolled around this beautiful park, filled with all kind of lushness. I wanted to write about it and share it with you guys, and I definitely want you to come here once on a nice sunny day. Trust me, if you are a nature lover, even if you are not, you will love the park.
In my “England on a Budget” series, I was talking about the things that you can enjoy for free in London, and this park will definitely fall into that category.
This park is a privately owned public park in the Borough of Newham, spanning over 77 acres. It is definitely the largest park in the borough. You can easily travel to the park by London transport (bus, underground, taxi) or even by foot! There are lots of bus stops near it (yes, you can also ride the famous red London buses while you are at it), and Plasitow underground station is also near it. (Take the District Line). And if this does not help you, you will always find a trustworthy google map to give you directions. 😛 There are altogether seven entrances to the park, and all of them are wheelchair accessible. It opens normally around 7.30 in the morning and is open till dusk. The opening and closing times do vary around summer and winter, but just a simple Google search will give you the updated times for when they are open, so it should not be much of a problem.
The best thing about West Ham Park is its splendour gardens, especially the Ornamental Gardens, and horticultural delights throughout the park. My personal favourite is the flower garden, filled with roses and blossoms and benches. I can easily spend hours sitting in there, soaking up the sun, and reading my book while enjoying the magnificent view of the flowers. If you get bored of sitting, you can always get up, stretch your legs, and go for a walk along the park road with trees and greenery on either side of the road. You can see friendly squirrels eyeing you with their cute beady eyes for food or some flock of pigeons coming at you for food. My wife tend to run the other way when this happens, though. 😂 Bless her, she is not very fond of squirrels, as once few got inside her kitchen hood and chewed all her electrics in the house. So the animosity runs deep 😂
There is a playground for kids and a cricket and tennis court for sports enthusiasts. And there is definitely enough space for some friendly football matches. If that is not enough, don’t forget to go to the small ice-cream van (run by an Italian dad and his son) and get a nice coffee. It’s really good! Get some “biscotti” with the coffee as well, you’d love it. And if all these fail, you have your range of ice creams. Come on, guys, who doesn’t like ice cream?
There is a trail in the park, where you can smell all the medicinal trees and if you walk along that trail with a cold or blocked nose, you will see the relief instantly-well that is what my wife says 😛
So, go inside the park and see for yourself how you like it. It’s a really pretty park.The park, at the moment, is getting ready to celebrate its 150th birthday. 150 years of rich nature, diversity, and a vibrant community. The documents of the park date back to 1566, and in 1762, they were acquired by a philanthropist named, Dr. John Fothergill. He was a plant lover, and some of the plants he planted back then can still be seen today. One of them is Ginkgo Biloba, which is considered one of the oldest species in the UK.
One thing I will suggest is that, visit the park throughout the year, it’s worth it. The park wraps itself up differently in each season and gives you an inner satisfaction which cannot be described in words. The sudden stillness in winter, and if it snows, all white wherever you lay your eyes, and in summer, it is completely opposite, with birds chirping and the ringing of bicycles and the giggling of young children filling up the air. The stroll in the park does make a mundane day a cheerful one. So do come here once in your life and enjoy its glory with your own two eyes.
