The park featured in this post is not one of the many famous ones around London but it is the closest to my home and the one I go to very frequently for walks and runs.
The park was created in 1934 when the land around the closed down Bethlem Hospital for mental health was bought and then donated to the London City Council by Lord Rothermere, the founder of the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror. For the previous 120 years the Bethlem Hospital in Southwark had been the main asylum for people with mental illnesses in London. With the creation of the park the main building was restored and used as the of the main venue of tthe Imperial War Museum. The park was named after Lord Rothermere’s mother, Geraldine Mary Harmsworth.
Recent additions to the park are a Tibetan Peace Garden that was inuagurated in 1999 by the Dalai Lama, a section of the Berlin Wall, some sporting facilities and a community orchard. The park is now maintained by the London Borough of Southwark.
Link to the Southwark Council website
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Iโve driven past but not gone in. Clearly I should!! I like the idea of seeing the Tibetan Peace Garden.
The Imperial War Museum is also worth a visit. Quite compelling and well organised!
What a great park! Have a great weekend!
Enjoy your weekend! ๐
You are so lucky to live near such a fantastic park. Great photos, too!
Many thanks! Enjoy your weekend!