7.8
Wildland
Half day
Time
Check
Cost
Peaceful
Feel
Why it's Wildland
7.8A vast Royal Park where a formal avenue, ornamental water gardens and open grassland meet a much older deer-park landscape. Its landmarks range from the Diana Fountain to memorials recalling Bushy Park’s wartime role.
Bushy Park earns its place through the contrast between broad, open parkland and quieter wooded gardens, with distinctive landmarks and a substantial, well-documented spring walk. It offers more than a green escape: the route connects its landscape to the park’s scientific and wartime stories.
Peaceful · Grand · Atmospheric
Find your way
Open mapBushy Park, Hampton Hill, Greater London
Opening map…
Know this place a little better?
The experience
The official spring walk links the park’s open avenues and historic water features with wooded paths, memorials and ponds. Choose a shorter section or take on the documented 5.88-mile circuit; check current route and facility details before setting out.
Things to do
Walk the documented spring circuit
Follow the Royal Parks route through avenues, open grassland, wooded areas, water gardens, memorials and ponds. The circuit is listed as 5.88 miles, around 2 hours 24 minutes, with some slopes.
About 2 hours 24 minutes
See the Diana Fountain
Look for the bronze statue rising from its broad water basin, a focal point on the spring route.
Explore Waterhouse Woodland Gardens
Take the shaded paths among the streams and ponds in this wooded part of the route.
Visit Upper Lodge Water Gardens
See the restored series of pools and channels where water, planting and architecture come together.
Pause at the ponds and memorials
The route passes Leg of Mutton and Heron ponds, as well as memorials connected to the Admiralty Research Laboratory, USAAF and Eisenhower.
Make a day of it
Quick escape · Choose a shorter section; the official route’s full circuit is 5.88 miles and takes about 2 hours 24 minutes.
A shorter spring highlights walk
- 01
Begin at the park entrance closest to you, as the Royal Parks route allows the circuit to start at any listed stop.
- 02
Choose a manageable section linking one or more documented highlights, such as Chestnut Avenue, the Diana Fountain or Waterhouse Woodland Gardens.
- 03
Check the current park map and access information before setting out; the supplied evidence does not define a shorter measured circuit.
Half day · 5.88 miles; approximately 2 hours 24 minutes
The full spring circuit
- 01
Start at Hampton Court Gate, the grand entrance onto Chestnut Avenue.
- 02
Continue to the Diana Fountain, then take in Waterhouse Woodland Gardens and the Canadian totem pole.
- 03
Visit Upper Lodge Water Gardens and the Admiralty Research Laboratory memorial.
- 04
Pause at the Pheasantry Café, identified by the route as a refreshments stop.
- 05
Finish by the USAAF and Eisenhower memorials, then Leg of Mutton Pond and Heron Pond; the route can be walked in either direction.
Verified history
The Royal Parks’ spring route identifies an Admiralty Research Laboratory memorial, a USAAF memorial and an Eisenhower memorial among its stops. Tripadvisor’s supplied attraction page describes Bushy Park as a deer park established by Henry VIII in 1529 and says Camp Griffiss was located here during the Second World War, where General Dwight D. Eisenhower planned the D-Day landings. The wartime account is supported here only by that secondary source.
Hidden details
The Canadian totem pole — Look for the carved landmark listed among the spring route’s stops, standing among the surrounding trees.
A memorial beside open grassland — The Admiralty Research Laboratory memorial is described as a quiet reminder of the park’s scientific past.
The restored pools and channels — At Upper Lodge Water Gardens, notice how pools, channels and planting meet the garden’s architecture.
When to go
· Not established by the supplied research.
The Royal Parks specifically presents this as a spring walk, noting fresh growth around ponds, avenues and grassland. Exact peak weeks are not established.
The route description notes some slopes. Check conditions and current route information before visiting.
The route
- ascent
- Some slopes throughout; elevation figure not supplied.
- distance
- 5.88 miles
- duration
- 2 hours 24 minutes
- route shape
- Circuit; can be walked in either direction and started at whichever listed stop is closest to your entrance.
- start point
- Hampton Court Gate is the first listed stop, but the route can begin at whichever listed stop is closest to your entrance.
- parking start
- Check before visiting; parking and route-start parking information are not established by the supplied sources.
- shorter alternative
- The route may be started at any listed stop and walked at your own pace, but the supplied source does not provide a measured shorter alternative.
- Hampton Court Gate and Chestnut Avenue
- Diana Fountain
- Waterhouse Woodland Gardens
- Canadian totem pole
- Upper Lodge Water Gardens
- Admiralty Research Laboratory memorial
- Pheasantry Café
- USAAF and Eisenhower memorials
- Leg of Mutton Pond and Heron Pond
What to look for
- 01
The bronze Diana Fountain
- 02
the Canadian totem pole
- 03
the restored pools and channels of Upper Lodge Water Gardens
- 04
memorials to the Admiralty Research Laboratory, USAAF and Eisenhower
- 05
and the ponds at Leg of Mutton and Heron.
The story
Royal parkland; scientific and Second World War history
Best time to go
Spring, when the Royal Parks’ suggested route takes in fresh growth around ponds, avenues and grassland.
Spring is the season highlighted by the Royal Parks route, with fresh growth around ponds, avenues and grassland. The supplied research does not establish a best time of day.
How long to spend
Half day
Perfect for
Walkers · Photographers · Wildlife lovers · History lovers
Before you go
Website
Listed hours
- Monday: Open 24 hours
- Tuesday: Open 24 hours
- Wednesday: Open 24 hours
- Thursday: Open 24 hours
- Friday: Open 24 hours
- Saturday: Open 24 hours
- Sunday: Open 24 hours
Check before visiting.
Google rating
Practical information
Opening & access
The supplied Royal Parks route describes a walk through the park, with entry possible from whichever stop is closest to your entrance. Check current access information before visiting.
Check before visiting
Parking
Check before visiting; the supplied sources do not verify parking arrangements.
Check before visiting
Toilets
Check before visiting
Check before visiting
Food & drink
The Royal Parks spring route identifies the Pheasantry Café as a refreshments stop; check current opening details before visiting.
Check before visiting
Dogs
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Check before visiting
Accessibility
The source row reports a wheelchair-accessible car park, entrance and seating. Check current accessibility details and route conditions before visiting.
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Cost
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Check before visiting
Water
Ponds, streams and ornamental water features. No swimming or paddling permission is evidenced.
Gallery
Place photographs
Keep exploring
Around Bushy Park
Within 50 km · approximate straight-line distances
