Sunday, August 10th

The forecast called for rain on Sunday, but the morning and early afternoon were bright and sunny instead. So I made my way to Hyde Park for a leisurely excursion about the grounds.

This was yet another London landmark I missed on my previous visit, so I was really excited to see it. I always think of how gentlemen and ladies would go courting by taking drives about the park in my old Regency romances. (It is rather troubling how much my knowledge of England is formed by Regency romances. Hmmm.) I had a great time wandering the lanes and ended up walking all the way around the Serpentine and the Long Water, the small lakes formed from the Westbourne River for Queen Caroline in 1730. (I read a monument.)

Despite the chilly breeze quite a few people were out rowing or paddleboating in the Serpentine, and I even saw one person swimming in the bathing area. Some areas of the park were painstakingly landscaped while others were left to run wild—quite the interesting combination. At one remote area along the path I couldn’t believe I was in the middle of a massive city anymore; it was just grassland and scattered trees in all directions.

At the head of the Long Water I relaxed on a bench among the fountains and watched the swans. As I made my way down the opposite shore I wandered through the Princess Di Memorial Fountain, which is surprisingly fun and unique as fountains go. People were wading and playing in the bubbling stream all around the fountain. Further along I suddenly came upon a sandy exhibition area, where a dozen riders were competing in pairs events. The horses were beautiful; groomed to perfection, many with their manes and tails braided. Everyone was decked out in fancy riding gear, while one pair were wearing full riding habits with long navy skirts—and I do believe riding sidesaddle. It was delightful in an utterly English way.

Comfy folding chairs are grouped all along the Serpentine, and I hung out for awhile in one beside a willow tree and read In A Sunburned Country, Megan’s book on Australia by Bill Bryson. He really is a fantastic travel writer. I love how a big chunk of his travels through Australia consist of him wandering on foot through various residential neighborhoods in Sydney and Melbourne and Canberra. He does so much walking and most of it not even remotely near tourist areas, just random suburbs. Scratch that – he seems to go on foot pretty much throughout the entirety of these cities, only using a rental car to get from city to city and not even bothering with public transport at all. I have to applaud his dedication as I am someone who couldn’t even bear to walk the extra ten minutes to the Tube every day to get to work. I chose to use the bus stop half a block away at the end of my street instead, heh.

I timed my visit pretty much perfectly, as the skies opened up just as I was making my way out of the park. I wonder if the people still paddleboating got wet.