Park life? Eight of our favourite UK green spaces. The ones we return to in every season, and what we tend to wear when we do. We'd love to hear about yours.
Birkenhead Park, Merseyside
The original inspiration for New York's Central Park, and the world's first publicly funded park. Opened in 1847, designed by Joseph Paxton. Go for the Victorian bones: the Swiss bridge, the boating lake, the rockwork and rotundas that still look cinematic on a grey afternoon. A coffee at the Visitor Centre, a slow loop around the lower lake, and you're set. Best in late spring when the wisteria's out.
Greenwich Park, London
Dating back to Roman times. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the point of reference for the longitude of every place on Earth. Climb up to the Royal Observatory and the hilltop view back over London is one of the best there is, at its best on a clear morning before the haze sets in. Wander down through the rose garden, then on to Greenwich Market for lunch. Flat shoes with anything floaty. There's a fair bit of incline.
The Botanic Garden, Belfast
Home to the Ulster Museum and the monumental Palm House, one of the earliest curvilinear iron-and-glass structures in the world, built in 1840. Worth the visit for the Victorian glass alone. The tropical ravine inside is a tiny humid miracle: jasmine, ferns, the kind of light you only get under old glass. A linen shirt or a loose midi feels right. The humidity's real.
Richmond Park, London
London's largest park. Over 2,500 acres of grassland, ancient oak and bracken, and home to more than 600 free-roaming red and fallow deer. It's also London's largest Site of Special Scientific Interest. Time a visit for the autumn rut and you'll hear the stags long before you see them; come in spring for the Isabella Plantation when the rhododendrons and azaleas are at their peak. Wear something that doesn't mind brushing through long grass.
Holyrood Park & Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh
A mountainous park inside a capital city. Walk it and you'd believe you were in the Highlands. The summit of Arthur's Seat is the eroded remains of an extinct volcano, 251 metres up; the scramble takes about 45 minutes, and the views back over the Old Town and out to the Firth of Forth are some of the best in Britain. Layer up. Edinburgh weather changes by the hour. Good trainers are non-negotiable.
Hampstead Heath, London
North London's great green space. 800 acres of meadow, ancient woodland and wild bathing ponds. Home to one of the most atmospheric corners in the city, the Pergola and Hill Garden, where wisteria drips over crumbling Edwardian colonnades. The Mixed, Ladies' and Men's Ponds are open year-round; a swim at the Ladies' Pond on a hot July morning is about as good as it gets. Take the long way home via Kenwood House for a tea on the lawn.
Regent's Park, London
Designed by John Nash in the early 1800s as part of an unrealised palace scheme for the Prince Regent. What survives is one of London's most elegant parks. Queen Mary's Gardens hold more than 12,000 roses across 85 varieties, at their peak from late May to early July; the Open Air Theatre runs Shakespeare and musicals through summer evenings. Bring a midi dress, a sun hat, and time it for golden hour.
Victoria Park, London
East London's most fashionable green space, and the city's oldest public park, opened in 1845. People-watch from one of the canal-side pubs or pavilion cafés, or bring a blanket and a book and stake out a spot near the lake. The Pavilion at the boating pond does an excellent flat white. Vicky Park does Sunday better than almost anywhere; arrive before noon if you want a table.
Packing for a park day? Our midi dresses and mini skirts, most with pockets, were designed with exactly this in mind.
