Open grass and trees in Hyde Park
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Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

Speakers' Corner, the Serpentine, Kensington Palace and the Albert Memorial.

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The route

Cross the royal parks from Marble Arch: Speakers' Corner, the Diana Memorial Fountain and the Serpentine, Kensington Palace, the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall, finishing at South Kensington.

The interactive map needs JavaScript. The stops are listed below.

Stops

  1. Start: Marble Arch
  8. End: South Kensington

Distance and times come from a pedestrian route between the stops. Allow extra time for stops, and check for temporary closures.

Route and map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Walking routes by the FOSSGIS OSRM service, saved 2026-10-18. Spotted a mistake? Fix the map.

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6 stops, in order

Each caption is a short fact; check opening times and tickets on the official site before you go.

  1. Stop 1 · Attraction

    Speakers' Corner

    Corner of Hyde Park traditionally used for public speaking.

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    1.4 km to the next stop

  2. Diana Memorial Fountain

    Stop 2 · Historic site

    Diana Memorial Fountain

    Oval stone fountain in Hyde Park, a memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales.

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    390 m to the next stop

  3. Stop 3 · Gallery

    Serpentine South Gallery

    Contemporary art gallery in the park, beside the Serpentine.

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    1.0 km to the next stop

  4. Stop 4 · Palace

    Kensington Palace

    Royal residence in Kensington Gardens.

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    950 m to the next stop

  5. Stop 5 · Memorial

    Albert Memorial

    Gothic Revival memorial to Prince Albert, opposite the Royal Albert Hall.

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    290 m to the next stop

  6. Royal Albert Hall

    Stop 6 · Attraction

    Royal Albert Hall

    Concert hall on Kensington Gore.

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    1.1 km to South Kensington station

Read the guide

A short note for each stop, written to be read or recorded as an audio walk. Audio is not available for this walk yet.

  1. Introduction

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    This walk crosses two royal parks, from Marble Arch to South Kensington. You begin at Speakers' Corner, then pass the Diana Memorial Fountain and the Serpentine South Gallery. After that come Kensington Palace, the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall. It is a long stretch of park, so take it at an easy pace.

  2. Stop 1: Speakers' Corner

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    Speakers' Corner is on the north-east edge of Hyde Park, close to Marble Arch. Protests in the park in the mid 1800s led to its use for public speaking. In 1866 the government suppressed a Reform League meeting, and rioting followed. The Parks Regulation Act of 1872 then set out the right to meet and speak freely in the park. The Royal Parks lists Karl Marx, Lenin and George Orwell among those who used the area. It calls this the last survivor of about a hundred weekly speaking places in London. Next stop: the Diana Memorial Fountain.

    Sources for this stop

  3. Stop 2: Diana Memorial Fountain

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    The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain was opened by Queen Elizabeth the Second on 6 July 2004. It is an oval ring of Cornish granite, made from 545 pieces cut by machine and put together by hand. Gustafson Porter designed it, with the landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson. Water starts at the highest point and flows both ways round, then settles in a calm pool. Soon after it opened, people slipped in the water and it was closed. It reopened in August 2004 with a fence and wardens. Next stop: Serpentine South Gallery.

    Sources for this stop

  4. Stop 3: Serpentine South Gallery

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    Serpentine South was known as the Serpentine Gallery when it was established in 1970. The building is a former tea pavilion, built in 1933 and 1934 to a design by James Grey West. Its sister space, Serpentine North, opened as the Sackler Gallery in 2013 and was renamed in 2021. Each summer the Serpentine invites an architect to design a pavilion, usually their first built structure in England. The programme began in 2000, with a design by Zaha Hadid. Next stop: Kensington Palace.

    Sources for this stop

  5. Stop 4: Kensington Palace

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    Kensington Palace began as a Jacobean mansion, built in 1605 and known as Nottingham House. William the Third and Mary the Second bought it in 1689. Sir Christopher Wren expanded the house and added pavilions at the corners. The court moved in shortly before Christmas 1689, and it stayed a favoured royal home for about seventy years. Queen Victoria was born here on 24 May 1819. From 1981, Diana, Princess of Wales had her London home here, until her death in 1997. Next stop: the Albert Memorial.

    Sources for this stop

  6. Stop 5: Albert Memorial

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    Queen Victoria commissioned the Albert Memorial after her husband, Prince Albert, died on 14 December 1861. Sir George Gilbert Scott led the design, which was approved in April 1863. The work took more than ten years, and Victoria unveiled the memorial in July 1872. John Henry Foley began the statue of Albert, and Thomas Brock finished it. The memorial is about fifty-four metres tall and is Grade One listed. It had a major restoration in the late 1990s. Next stop: Royal Albert Hall.

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  7. Stop 6: Royal Albert Hall

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    The Royal Albert Hall was opened by Queen Victoria on 29 March 1871. Captain Francis Fowke and Major-General Henry Scott of the Royal Engineers designed it. Victoria laid the foundation stone in 1867, and renamed the project in memory of Albert. Around the outside runs a terracotta frieze, about eight hundred feet long, called The Triumph of Arts and Sciences. The BBC Proms have been held here every summer since 1941. It is Grade One listed.

    Sources for this stop

Written for Britlens from the sources listed under each stop. Check opening times and access on the official sites before you go.

Getting there and back

Both ends of the walk are at stations. Check live times and any planned works before you travel.

Getting there

Marble Arch

Tube: Central line

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Getting back

South Kensington

Tube: Piccadilly line, District line, Circle line

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  • The parks are open from early morning, but opening times of Kensington Palace and the Serpentine galleries vary: check before you go.
  • Step-free access has not been checked for this walk. Check the route and station access before you go.
  • Opening times, prices and closures change: check before you visit.

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Photos are credited on the photo credits page. Route and map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.