Springtime at Battersea Park

Battersea Park is somewhere I hadn't visited in a few years and it is a great area for walking around at Springtime. The 200-acre green space in Battersea, South West London is just one stop on the train from Victoria station and walking distance from Clapham Junction. The Victorian park is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea and was opened in 1858.

Entering through the gates you'll see old fashioned lamp posts and wrought iron benches and plenty of people roaming with their dogs or cycling around.

Battersea park has a large lake with ducks and geese, an adventure pay area (and Go Ape), pitch and putt, a subtropical garden area, huge water fountains, sports pitches, a bandstand, lots of beautiful trees and plants and the London Peace Pagoda. There is also a small zoo which re-opened this week.

The construction of the Peace Pagoda was thanks to a group of nuns, monks and other followers of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji order and was completed in 1985. The Pagoda is home to four gilded bronze statues of the Buddha on the four sides of the building. Each of them show some of the Buddha’s mudras, which are hand gestures. It sits next to the river Thames.

At the moment the cherry blossoms are in bloom and there is a lovely walkway lined by them which runs near the adventure playground area.

Cherry Blossom Battersea Park April

You can hire bikes, trikes, recumbents (reclining position bikes) and tandems for about £12-24 per hour at weekends and during school holidays. My kids loved the look of the recumbents.

There are also coffee vans and ice cream vans dotted about and near the entrance gates.

We decided to walk to Clapham Junction (which is a bout 1.3 miles) and got the train back home from there. There are lots of shops and some pretty cool street art in Battersea including the Girl with a Pearl Earring which was on Hope Street in Battersea.

The advert below is for a Friends and Family Railcard (affiliate link) - these cards are valid for a year and will save adults a 1/3 and children 60% off train fares if you are all travelling together. These pretty much pay for themselves after one journey. Great if you regularly take trips on the train or tube.