Parks and Open Spaces in London - Other Green Spaces

Other Green Spaces

Other major open spaces in the suburbs include:

• Hampstead Heath, 320 hectares
• Clapham Common, 89 hectares
• Wandsworth Common, 73 hectares
• Wimbledon Common, about 460 hectares
• Epping Forest, 2,476 hectares
• Trent Park 169 hectares
• Hainault Forest Country Park 136 hectares
• Mitcham Common 182 hectares
• South Norwood Country Park 47 hectares
• Wildspace Conservation Park 645 hectares
• Watling Chase 18,840 hectares
• Thames Chase 9,842 hectares

They have a more informal and semi-natural character, having originally been countryside areas protected against surrounding urbanisation. Some cemeteries provide extensive green land within the city — notably Highgate Cemetery, burial place of Karl Marx and Michael Faraday amongst others. Completing London's array of green spaces are two paid entrance gardens — the leader is the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew, whilst the royal residence of Hampton Court Palace also has a celebrated garden. All Outer London boroughs contain sections of the metropolitan green belt. Furthermore one of the great legacies of the 2012 Olympic Games in London will be the development of the largest (200ha) urban park in Europe at Stratford in East London.