Bushy Park

Bushy Park lies in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, just north of Hampton Court Palace. It is the second largest of London’s Royal Parks, covering 445 hectares. The park borders Teddington, Hampton, Hampton Hill and Hampton Wick, and is mainly within the post towns of Hampton and Teddington. Most of the park is open to the public and can be reached in a few minutes’ walk from the west side of Kingston Bridge. It shares its southern boundary with Hampton Court Park and Hampton Court Golf Course. The park has been shaped by centuries of royal use and wartime decisions. Henry VIII established it as a deer-hunting ground in the 16th century, naming Hare Warren, Middle Park and Bushy Park. Charles I built the 19-kilometre Longford River to supply Hampton Court, and Sir Christopher Wren designed Chestnut Avenue and the Arethusa ‘Diana’ Fountain as a grand approach. During the Second World War, General Dwight D. Eisenhower planned the D-Day landings from Camp Griffiss in the park, and a memorial now marks the spot where his tent stood. Today the park offers wide grasslands, formal plantations and conservation areas. Herds of red and fallow deer roam freely among the veteran trees and wood pastures. Visitors can follow Chestnut Avenue from Teddington to the Lion Gate entrance of Hampton Court Palace. The park also contains Bushy House, home to the National Physical Laboratory, and restored Water Gardens at Upper Lodge. Every Saturday morning around 1,500 runners take part in the original parkrun along the 5-kilometre course.