National Grade:Leisurely Distance: 6.5 mi / 10.5 km  Leader: Lesley J. Date: March 24th 2026

 What a lovely walk for the spring time and a great way to see many of London’s iconic sites. All the blossom and spring flowers were out in full. We started at the Italian Gardens and followed the waters edge until we turned off towards Kensington Palace. The day was breezy and waves skipped over the round pond. Having admired the young Victoria we headed up the South Flower Walk, which was lovely, crammed with early flowering bulbs, magnolias, and almonds. We peeped out at the Albert Memorial, before briefly exploring the art installation at the Serpentine Gallery.
There was lots of birdlife all along the Serpentine, even some very young Egyptian Geese learning how to entice  the humans to give up their sandwiches.
The bedding schemes in the rose garden were a delight and as we approached Wellington Arch, the park was adorned with bluebells, harebells, and daffodils. At the end of Green Park, Buckingham Palace was busy and we dropped into St Jame’s Park where we found a spot for lunch.
After lunch we went Great White Pelican hunting, who ironically are pink(ish). There have been a number here for many years, originally introduced by Charles II in 1664
We walked back through Green Park and into Hyde Park, past the Royal Parks Police Station (now Royal Parks HQ) and followed the Serpentine back to the Italian Gardens where we started.

Report by:  Lesley Jones