Litter is up 30%-50% in the Royal Parks and we need people to take their litter home

We are encouraging responsible use of the parks for exercise whilst adhering to social distancing requirements. Follow our guidance to avoid conflict with all other park users.

Our sole priority for the last few months has been to keep the parks open and safe, and we’re doing everything we can to ensure this is the case. We want to say a huge thank you to everyone for their support and for following the rules on social distancing.

We know how crucial it is for people’s physical and mental wellbeing to be able to have access to these valuable green spaces, and if we all work together we can keep them open for everyone to enjoy at this difficult time.

Following the Government's changes to lockdown restrictions on 14th September 2020, social distancing is still essential and we ask that you act with kindness and consideration to other park visitors, as well as making sure you throw your litter in the bins or take it home if they're full.

Please see below for the latest status of our park facilities.

Opening hours and closed areas

All parks have now returned to their normal closing times

All park offices are closed to the public until further notice.

Playgrounds

Diana, Princess of Wales’s Memorial Playground, Kensington Gardens

Following essential maintenance, this playground is now open again between 10am and 6:45pm, with last entry at 6:30pm.

There is a reduced capacity of 250 visitors at any one time and all children must be accompanied by an adult.

The playground is operating a 'one in, one out' rule, and visitors must leave as a group and not at staggered times.

Please note: a queuing system has been put in place for entry to the playground and for access to the toilets, in order to facilitate social distancing. Food and drink will NOT be permitted in the playground.

Please bring your own hand sanitiser and use it before and after you have touched any surfaces in the playground, and please observe social distancing at all times.

Unfortunately, the water features are not in use at this time.

All other playgrounds and outdoor gyms

Please avoid using the playgrounds and outdoor gyms when they are busy in order to maintain social distancing, and please adhere to the signage at the gates. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Please bring your own hand sanitiser and use it before and after you have touched any surfaces in the playgrounds or outdoor gyms, and please observe social distancing at all times. For those using the outdoor gyms, please wipe down equipment after you have used it.

Please note: It is not possible to guarantee that playgrounds and outdoor gyms are secure from Covid-19 and visitors use them at their own risk.

While the majority of our playgrounds and outdoor gyms are now open, there is one location which remain closed:

Kingston Gate Playground in Richmond Park

Please check individual park pages for further information on each playground.

Toilets We have implemented all necessary measures to protect our visitors’ safety and to provide a safe working environment for our attendants. During periods when the toilets are cleaned, we will temporarily close access to the facilities until cleaning is safely completed. We will keep our toilet provision under constant review. From Monday 21st September public toilets* within The Royal Parks will be open at the following times. Please note that we are reintroducing charges for using these facilities from this date. Public toilets at catering outlets are for customers only, and will only be available during the outlet opening hours. Hyde & Kensington

St. James's

Richmond & Bushy

Greenwich

Regent's Hyde Park Hyde Park (Bandstand) 08:30 to 20:00

Hyde Park (Reservoir) 08:30 to 20:00 Kensington Gardens Kensington Gardens (Marlborough Gate and Mount Gate) 08:00 to 19:00

Kensington Gardens (Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground) open to 19:00 St. James's Park St. James's Park (Marlborough Gate and Horse Guards) 09:00 to 20:00

St. James's Park (Playground) 11:00 to 20:00 Richmond Park Richmond Park 08:00 to 21:00 Bushy Park Bushy Park (Playground) 08:00 to 20:00 Greenwich Park Greenwich Park (Lower Avenue) 08:00 to 19:15

Greenwich Park (Rockery) 11:00 to 19:30

Greenwich Park (Playground) 11:00 to 19:00 The Regent's Park Regent's Park 09:00 to 19:00

Regents' Park (Playgrounds) 11:00 to 19:45

Catering Many catering outlets across our parks have reopened with social distancing measures in place. They are offering takeaway services, with the majority of cafes having socially distanced external seating and some having socially distanced internal seating. Please see the list of open outlets below, which includes seating availability. Public toilets at catering outlets are for customers only, and will only be available during the outlet opening hours. A list of open cafés is below, if it's not on the list then it remains closed for the near future. Hyde, Kensington & Brompton

St James's & Green

Richmond & Bushy

Greenwich

Regent's Hyde Park Boathouse Kiosk

Speakers Corner Kiosk

Serpentine Bridge Kiosk - with external seating

Hyde Park Corner Kiosk

Hyde Park Corner Lodge Café – with external seating

Band Stand mobile (weekends)

Reformers Tree Ice Cream mobile

Triangle Kiosk

The Serpentine Lido Café – with external seating

The Serpentine Lido Mobile Van

Will 2 Win Café - with external seating

Serpentine Bar & Kitchen – with external and internal seating

Serpentine Bar & Kitchen (Garden Kiosk) - with external seating

Serpentine Lido Café

Hyde Park Playground Kiosk Kensington Gardens Italian Gardens Café – with external seating

Broad Walk Café – with external seating

Albert Memorial Kiosk (weekends)

Broad Walk Mobile Unit Comma Van

Palace Gate kiosk Brompton Cemetery Café North Lodge - with external seating St. James's Park and The Green Park Canada Gate Kiosk

Marlborough Gate

Artillery Memorial Kiosk

Seasonal Mobile Unit 1

Seasonal Mobile Unit 2 (weekends)

St James's Park Playground Kiosk (weekends) Richmond Park Roehampton Café – with external seating

Broomfield Hill Kiosk

Pen Pond Kiosk - with external seating

Pembroke Lodge Kiosk Bushy Park Pheasantry Café - with external and internal seating

Pheasantry Kiosk - with external seating

Diana Car Park Kiosk

Ice Cream mobile van Greenwich Park Pavilion Café – with external and internal seating

Wolfe Statue Kiosk

St. Mary’s Lodge - with external seating The Regent's Park Boathouse Café - with external seating

Regent’s Bar and Kitchen – with external and internal seating

Primrose Hill Café (weekends) - with external seating for playground visitors

Holme Green Kiosk

Espresso Bar

The Broadwalk Café - with external and internal seating

Will2Win Tennis Centre Café - with external seating

Parking at the parks

OUTER PARKS - BUSHY PARK, RICHMOND PARK, GREENWICH PARK

The car park in Greenwich Park is now open all week .

The car park can be accessed via Blackheath Gates entrance only, and opening hours have returned to normal.

. The car park can be accessed via Blackheath Gates entrance only, and opening hours have returned to normal. Car parks in Bushy Park are now open all week .

The Pheasantry car park can be accessed from the north side of the park only via Chestnut Avenue and the Diana Fountain car park can be accessed from the south side of the park only via Chestnut Avenue. The car parks will be open during normal park opening hours. Clapperstile car park is also open to blue badge holders every day including weekends.

. The Pheasantry car park can be accessed from the north side of the park only via Chestnut Avenue and the Diana Fountain car park can be accessed from the south side of the park only via Chestnut Avenue. The car parks will be open during normal park opening hours. Clapperstile car park is also open to blue badge holders every day including weekends. Car parks in Richmond Park are now accessible all week

As part of our Movement Strategy we are trialling a scheme that reduces vehicle cut-through traffic while providing access to car parks. Details can be found on our Movement Strategy page for Richmond Park.

INNER PARKS - HYDE PARK, THE REGENT'S PARK, ST. JAMES'S PARK AND THE GREEN PARK

In Hyde Park, pay and display car parking is available from Monday to Sunday, 08:30 to 18:30. This includes car parking facilities on West Carriage Drive, which is now open to vehicles.

In The Regent’s Park, pay and display car parking is available from Monday to Sunday, 09:00 to 18:30.

Minibus service, Richmond Park

We have taken the decision to cancel the free minibus service for the remainder of 2020 due to the recent alterations in the road layout at Richmond Park that make it difficult to access the request stops, and concerns over the safety of passengers and volunteer drivers during the current crisis. We hope to resume the service next year and will update on this when we have news.

Filming in the parks

The Royal Parks is now accepting enquiries for small scale filming and photography shoots across all Royal Parks (currently up to 10 people), subject to following social distancing regulations, which is currently a minimum of 2 metres. Please be aware that it may not be possible to film in some locations under these circumstances. We will continue to review our guidelines in accordance with the Government advice.

The Royal Parks has a duty of care to the public and will not agree to any filming or photography request that does not contain realistic proposals to protect the public, each application will be assessed on a case by case basis. Please find The Royal Parks COVID-19 filming guidance here. This is in line with the Film London COVID-19 Guidance for Location Filming in London, the full version of which is available at http://core.filmlondon.org.uk/library/documents/COVID-19GuidanceforLocationFilming.pdf.

Please submit your online application for filming/photography via our online form. The following documents must be uploaded during submission of The Royal Parks online filming and photography application form: Risk Assessment/Method Statement in accordance with the TRP Covid-19 Filming Guidance, specifically addressing the mitigation measures taken to reduce Covid-19 related risks Public Liability Insurance to a minimum of £5 million A signed copy of the TRP COVID-19 Filming Guidance

Please find more information on our Filming and Photography webpage.

Small events

We have been closely following the Government’s announcements, WHO guidelines and recommendations for mass gatherings in the context of Covid-19.

As guidelines are continuously changing and there is currently a temporary ban on the organisation and planning of mass gatherings, it is extremely difficult to ensure health and safety of the public in line with moving risk assessments. We will continue to follow the UK Covid alert level for the easing or increase of restrictions for the remainder of this year.

Small events, as categorised by The Royal Parks, have an enormous amount of variables from event concept (cultural, sporting, charitable) to their capacity, size, infrastructure, management and safety. Event organisers would need to submit plans which meet moving health and safety regulations in line with the Covid alert level.

For the reasons above, the Royal Parks has decided not to licence any small events for the foreseeable future. Any bookings that have already been made will need to be cancelled.

Due to the popularity of our parks and the uncertainty of the ongoing Covid-19 virus, we regret that it will not be possible to offer any dates in 2021 at this time. We ask that any enquiries are not submitted until the new year. This will allow us time to issue solid guidelines and requirements, as well as health and safety measures for all small events which we aim to release for event organisers this autumn.

We understand how disappointing this news will be for you and your participants, customers, and supporters but our priority is to support the national effort in coming out of this crisis, provide open space for the public and protect everyone’s health.

Sport, leisure and personal fitness

All tennis courts across the Royal Parks have now re-opened

Members of the Serpentine Swimming Club will be permitted to swim in the Lido from Monday 6 th July until 9.30am. Visitors to the park are reminded that no public swimming is allowed anywhere in Hyde Park at any time

July until 9.30am. Visitors to the park are reminded that no public swimming is allowed anywhere in Hyde Park at any time In Richmond Park, the golf course has re-opened

Joggers using Brompton Cemetery for their daily exercise can now run anywhere across the site while maintaining a sensible, safe distance from other visitors. Normal cycling and dog restrictions apply.

We have begun processing fitness training licence applications again. All operators will need to comply with the latest Government guidance and pass a Covid-19 risk assessment, so applications may take a little longer than usual. We currently do not have the capacity to host one-day fitness licences .

. Dogs must be kept under control at all times in all of London's eight Royal Parks and in Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens. Additionally, visitors are required to obey notices which restrict access to dogs in some areas or require them to be kept on leads

The Hub Sports Facility (Regent's Park)

Closure of The Hub

We have taken the difficult decision to close The Hub until further notice.

Resumption of winter sports (football, rugby and lacrosse) in Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill

Where sports have received government approval to return to play (such as football) we are asking for clubs written COVID-19 plan and risk assessments to ensure compliance with NGB and government guidelines.

Our winter sports season has commenced. Bookings are pitch only . For winter sports pitch booking queries please contact thehub@royalparks.org.uk

. For winter sports pitch booking queries please contact thehub@royalparks.org.uk Although The Hub will be closed, Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill remain open for visitors to enjoy spending time in nature and for relaxation and recreation. Staying fit and well is particularly important at the moment and we encourage people to come to the Parks to boost their physical and mental wellbeing. Please remember to follow the Government’s advice on social distancing to prevent the disease spreading.

Visitor and education centres, community programmes and volunteering

All visitor centres and The LookOut Discovery Centre in Hyde Park are now temporarily closed

All learning and education programmes, and community programmes have been suspended for the summer term. We are reviewing this on a regular basis in line with Government guidelines. These include all activities for school groups delivered by The Royal Parks and our partners

The Royal Parks is carefully reintroducing some volunteering in the coming weeks. This will be a phased reintroduction and will start with roles that can be done outside, are not public facing, and can be undertaken in small groups of six or less, where it is possible to keep at a safe distance from others at all times. The Royal Parks team will be in touch when and if it is appropriate to do so.

This page will be updated on a daily basis so please check it regularly for the latest information about the parks. You can also stay up-to-date by following us on Twitter and Facebook.