Welcome to our site about Bushy Park.
Bushy Park is the second largest park that is one of the London Royal Parks with a total area of 445 hectares. The Park is located to the north of Hampton Court Park and the Hampton Court Palace.
It is encased by Hampton Hill, Teddington, Hampton, and Hampton Wick and is just a few minutes away from the North edge of the Kingston Bridge. Bushy Park itself lies along the southwest of Richmond upon Thames and is mostly open to the public although there are a few private locations within the park.
Bushy Park was created by Henry VIII in 1529, although evidence has been found that suggests the park area has been settled for over 4,000 years, with archaeological records that date as far back as the Bronze Age. Henry VIII was said to have founded the parks as grounds for deer hunting, but successors in the line of royalty added plenty of picturesque features, which have aided the beauty of the park today.
For instance, Charles I saw the creation of the Longford River, which is canal that runs into the park and provides water to its ponds. Charles I also oversaw the creation of Chestnut Venue, which runs through the park from Teddington to the Hampton Court Palace.
Although locals are the most frequent visitors of Bushy Park, the area is also visited by many tourists and used to be the main celebration point of Chestnut Sunday until WWII. But then the tradition was once again revived in 1993 and continues today.
Bushy Park also has several ties to history as it was the location of the King’s Canadian Hospital during WWI and between both world wars it housed a camp that was formed to aid children that were undernourished.
Today the sporting roots of Bushy Park still shine through as it is home to four cricket clubs, the Teddington Hockey Club, and the Teddington Rugby Club. It also offers visitors locations to deploy model boats and fish recreationally.
Visitors also enjoy the horse rides, wildlife conservation areas, tree and plant plantations that are spread throughout Bushy Park and the Red Deer and Fallow Deer that run throughout the Park area calling it home.
There are also several cottages and lodges built within Bushy Park such as the National Physical Laboratory, the Bushy House, the Bushy Park allotments at Hampton Hill, and the Royal Paddocks Allotments at Hampton Wick.
In 2009 the Heritage Lottery Fund also supported the opening of the Pheasantry Café and provided funds for the reconstruction of the Upper Lodge Water Gardens, which is a beautiful brick area featuring a predominant staircase waterfall.
The closest railway stations to Bushy Park are Hampton Wick on the eastern side, Hampton Court on the southern side, Hampton on the western side, and Teddington and Fulwell on the northern side. Each of these stations is about a ten to twenty minute walk from the park. Transport for London bus routes also run by the park.
