A Guide to TW9’s Royal Park, Its River, Its Deer, and Its Deeply Pleasant Problem of Being Too Nice
Richmond: The Part of London That Fooled Everyone Into Thinking They Left London
Richmond is the south west London borough at the point where the Thames makes its broad bend toward Twickenham and where the combination of the river, the park, and the hill creates an environment so persistently rural in character that first-time visitors sometimes check their phones to confirm they are still within Greater London. They are. The deer are also real. Richmond Park — two thousand five hundred acres of ancient Royal hunting ground where red and fallow deer roam freely among ancient oak trees — is within the Greater London boundary and is served by a bus from Richmond station. This is the most disorienting fact about London’s geography and it is entirely accurate.
Richmond Park: The Largest Royal Park and Its Deer
Richmond Park is two thousand five hundred acres of ancient parkland enclosed by Charles I in 1637 as a Royal hunting ground and containing approximately six hundred red and fallow deer that roam freely across the park in herds that move with the unhurried authority of animals that know they have right of way and the historical precedent to prove it. The park is the largest of the Royal Parks, contains ancient oak trees of extraordinary age, and is a National Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and a European Special Area of Conservation simultaneously — a trifecta of environmental designations that reflects the genuine ecological significance of a deer park preserved within a major city for four hundred years. The Royal Parks manages the park. It is free to enter on foot and bicycle. Cars are charged a parking fee. The deer charge nothing and require only that you keep your distance, which is enforced by the rangers during rutting season in October with a firmness appropriate to the size of the antlers.
Richmond Hill: The View and the Right to It
The view from Richmond Hill over the Thames valley is the only view in England protected by an Act of Parliament — the Richmond, Ham, Petersham and Barnes Open Spaces Act of 1902 — which means that the panorama of meadows, river, and woodland visible from the terrace on Richmond Hill cannot be obstructed by development. The view has been painted by Turner, Reynolds, and Constable and is available free of charge to anyone who climbs the hill. The Roebuck pub at the top of the hill has a terrace with this view and serves drinks. This is the correct combination of legal protection, historical painting, and pub with a terrace that London provides at Richmond Hill and nowhere else quite so completely.
The Thames at Richmond: The Riverside
The Thames at Richmond has a riverside character that combines the working river with the leisure river in a way that the central London south bank cannot replicate: actual rowing, actual sailing, riverside pubs with actual terraces, and the specific atmosphere of a river town that has been using this stretch of the Thames for pleasure since before the Tudor monarchs hunted in the park above. The Richmond Bridge — Georgian, stone-arched, built in 1777 — is one of the finest surviving stone bridges over the Thames and the starting point for the Thames Path which runs in both directions through some of the finest river scenery in the area. Thames Path connects Richmond to Kew, Chiswick, and Twickenham in each direction.
Richmond Town: The Village That Is Also a Town
Richmond town centre is a functioning outer west London commercial centre with the specific character of somewhere that has enough money and enough history to maintain an independent high street: independent food shops, restaurants of genuine quality, a theatre (Richmond Theatre, 1899, Frank Matcham), and the Richmond Green — a large town green of Georgian character that gives the commercial centre a sense of space unavailable in most outer London towns. Richmond Theatre programmes touring West End productions and is worth checking for current shows. The Green is free and the terrace cafes around it represent the correct way to experience Richmond on a warm afternoon.
Getting There
Richmond station (District line, London Overground, and National Rail from Waterloo) is one of the better-connected outer London stations, serving three transport modes from a single interchange. The journey from central London takes approximately twenty-five minutes. The park is a bus ride or a fifteen-minute walk from the station. The river is a five-minute walk from the station. The hill is a ten-minute walk from the station. Richmond is compact enough to access everything by foot from one starting point.
Final Verdict
Richmond is the London neighbourhood for days when the city feels too much and the countryside feels too far. The park has two thousand five hundred acres and six hundred deer. The view from the hill is protected by Parliament. The river is genuinely beautiful. The theatre is Frank Matcham. The Green has terraces. The deer have right of way. Come on any day that is not specifically Tuesday in November. Actually come on Tuesday in November too. The deer in the autumn mist are one of the genuinely extraordinary free things available within the London boundary.
SOURCE: http://prat.UK
