One of the biggest and busiest cities in the world can also be a haven of pastoral bliss. Kevin Courtney steps outside
Looking for somewhere to escape the hyperactive pace of city life, the traffic gridlock, the overcrowded trains and bustling shops, and find peace and tranquility among the trees and wildlife? I know the perfect place - London. You wouldn't think it, but one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world can also be a haven of pastoral bliss. London has more square yardage of parks, meadows, forests, lakes and open space than you can shake a stick at. You can visit vast parks, nature reserves, city farms and showpiece gardens, and go boating, swimming, birdwatching and sunbathing, all within the Greater London area.
We don't put much store in outdoor living in Dublin. Sure, we might spend a lunch hour in St Stephen's Green or take the kids for a quick spin around the Phoenix Park before going to the zoo. But we don't treat these places as focal points of Dublin life. We push the dubious delights of drinking in Temple Bar, or the joys of spending Sunday afternoon going up and down the escalators in Dundrum Town Centre. Dublin boasts the largest public park in Europe, but in terms of tourism promotion, the Phoenix Park may as well be a vacant lot on the outskirts of the city.
London, by contrast, likes its outdoor life, and there's no end of encouragement to close the front door behind you and see what's out there. It helps that the city has a Mediterranean-type microclimate that ensures it gets lots of hot, dry days during the spring and summer.
It also helps that London has a larger area to accommodate outdoor spaces, something Dublin, with its compact configuration, is sadly short of. Dublin may have more pubs per square mile, but London has more than its fair share of large parks, royal parks, local parks, heaths and commons, including Holland Park, Alexandra Palace Park, Battersea Park, St James's Park, Hampstead Heath, Bushy Park, Greenwich Park, Finsbury Park and Clapham Common.
The Visit London website has launched a new microsite highlighting the many outdoor activities available in the British capital, with emphasis on family-friendly activities and free events. The site, www.visitlondon.com, lists London's parks, public gardens and green spaces, and contains a calendar of outdoor events, including markets, festivals and exhibitions.
"We put up the microsite to inform people that London has a vast amount of green space," says Anna Streatfeild of VisitLondon.com. "Some people might think that London is just a concrete jungle, but no matter where you are in the city, you're always close to a park. This is a good time to remind people of the open spaces available to them, especially since the weather here has been so brilliant."
Streatfeild feels that outdoor life is enhanced by the addition of events to draw people to an area. "Some people don't need any encouragement to go to the park for a day out, and they don't need an event to attract them there. They'll just chill out with a book, maybe. But putting on a free event will certainly bring more people out - last year's Brick Lane festival had 50,000 people attending. We've got an events calendar that lists a lot of free events, such as the Columbia Road Flower market, or the Regent Street festival. It's about promoting every aspect of London, and giving visitors more choice."
"You really notice the difference here," says Irish writer Louise East, who lives in London. "People really use the parks and the festivals. I regularly head up to Hampstead Heath to swim in the freshwater ponds - although they're more like Olympic swimming pools than ponds. Everybody's playing some sport, whether it's tennis or just throwing frisbees, and people fetch up for picnics with half a fridge on their backs, and bring the entire extended family. There are no restrictions - people are encouraged to walk on the grass."
East believes that Londoners use the parks more because the countryside and the beach are less accessible to them. "London has a lot of lidos which were built in the 1950s and 1960s, and swimming there is really part of summer in London. There's something about having a swim in the lido in Hyde Park while looking across at the London Eye."
The downside, she says, is that the weather in London can often become so hot that the last thing you want to do is go outside. "I'm sitting in Soho Square right now, and every bit of shade is being used. When it gets this hot, everyone becomes like New Yorkers - they just want to get inside and turn on the air conditioning."
CHILL OUTDOORS
FRUITSTOCK, REGENT'S PARK, AUGUST 5-6
Live music, DJs, food and drink stalls, cakes, a farmers' market, yoga, reading area, flirting area, and lots of kids' entertainment. It's free - and it's healthy, too.
BUZZ IN THE PARK, AUGUST 27
Babyshambles (featuring tabloid-fodder frontman Pete Doherty), Buzzcocks and former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, head the line-up for the third indie scuzz-fest on Clapham Common.
REGENT'S STREET FESTIVAL, SEPTEMBER 3
This year's festival has a Spanish theme, with musicians coming from Galicia and Asturias, dancers from Andalucia and acrobats from Catalonia. There will also be food from 16 different regions of Spain, including the requisite giant dish of paella from Valencia.
KYOTO GARDEN, HOLLAND PARK
If city life is stressing you out, this Japanese garden in the heart of London could inject some zen into your soul. The Kyoto garden was built in 1991 as part of the London Japanese Festival, and it continues to offer peace and tranquility 15 years later.
TOOTING BEC LIDO, TOOTING COMMON
One of Europe's oldest purpose-built outdoor swimming amenities, Tooting Bec Lido remains one of the city's most popular dipping spots. It was featured in Guy Richie's gangster movie Snatch, but in real life it's used more by families than 'the family'.