Picnicking in Victoria Park

Top place for barbecuing.

They call it London’s best-kept secret. And indeed, it is.

As big as Hyde Park is, it was a first-ever public park to open under Queen Victoria’s rule. East London used to be a very dirty area of many fabrics, manufactures, and docklands. The poor working class inhabited it and they wanted to have something nice for themselves, something like Regent’s Park. So they signed a petition to the Queen and hooray! she responded positively.

Actually, Speaker’s Corner (a place where everybody had a right to exercise in free speech) was originally based here, not in Hyde Park. Both Karl Marx and Lenin were spotted there (by 19th century Lomographers, I bet).

Victoria Park is one of the few parks in London where you are allowed to do barbecue. The park is split in two by Grove Road. The smaller one contains a beautiful lake with water features and a variety of birds, along with a very nice coffee shop- The Pavilion Cafe (closes around 4pm). But for barbecue, head further, to the park’s bigger part.

Bring your portable BBQ, but don’t forget to clean up after yourself! And don’t ever leave coal leftovers here!
On a weekend sunny day, the park is full. Families, children, people strolling, cyclists, kite flying, football, cricketers and fellow picnickers – you can watch the world go by whole day long.

There are toilet facilities in this part of the park too, which is handy after more than a few Pimms, wines or beers in the park!

If run out of drinks, there are two great pubs on each side of the Grove road:
Royal Inn on The Park (111, Lauriston Rd, London, E9 7HJ) and The Crown Pub and Dining Rooms (223 Grove Road,Victoria Park,London,E3 5SN).

written by neja on 2011-04-04 #places #park #food #fun #activity #drinks #summer #birthday #spring #outdoor #air #celebration #barbecue #location #fresh #london #uk #friends #travel-destination #picnick #lcg