Victoria Park

• Spend a lovely summer’s day at Victoria Park, one of the most popular open spaces in London.
• Enjoy a modern park that still retains the character and charm of its Victorian beginnings.
• Take part in the wide variety of sports and activities on offer at the park.
• Experience the best of the East London community at one of the many festivals and events held at the park.

Known as the “People’s Park”, Victoria Park in East London is a fantastic day out to relax and have fun in a beautiful environment. Victoria Park is the oldest purpose-built park in the capital, has been a place for the citizens of London to enjoy themselves in since 1845.

There’s plenty of fun things for kids to do in Victoria Park. Stretching over a 218-acre site, the park is home to two children’s playgrounds and plenty of sports facilities. In the eastern part of the park, there is a large adventure playground, filled with slides, climbing frames, and swings. The other playground, in the western part of the park, also has a bunch of child-friendly activities and is a fun option for younger kids.

In the west of the park, you’ll also find the Victoria Park lake. This large lake is the site of two impressive sculptures by Romanian artist Erno Bartha. You’ll also find the beautiful Chinese Pagoda on one of the lake’s islands. This Pagoda can be accessed by the ornate Pennethorne Bridge, which has a fascinating history; it was designed by the park’s Victorian designer, Sir James Pennethorne, but never built. When the Pagoda was refurbished in 2010, his original bridge designs were rediscovered, and the bridge and Pagoda were constructed in full glory.

If you’re sports-mad, there are some great activities available at Victoria Park. The large park is home to many sports facilities, including tennis courts, cricket nets and pitches, and football pitches. There’s also an athletics track and club at the park. The lake at Victoria Park is a boating lake, where you can rent pedalos and other people-powered boats. There’s also the Victoria Park Splash Pool, which is located near to the adventure playground and is open during the summer as a place where kids can splash about and have fun.

If you visit the park on a Sunday, be sure to check out the brilliant Victoria Park market. This open-air artisanal market is home to a fantastic collection of street vendors and traders, who sell a wide variety of exciting things to eat and drink. The market takes place in the western part of the park, which is a great place to have a picnic.

Victoria Park also hosts several exciting events throughout the year. The Victoria Park fireworks are an annual, free Bonfire Night celebration in the park every November. The park is also the site of some of the coolest music events around, with Lovebox Festival and All Points East just two of the many brilliant Victoria Park festivals every year.

‍What to know before you go 

• Victoria Park opening times are 7am till dusk every day.
• There are plenty of great food and drinks options at Victoria Park. The Hub Café, in the centre of the park, serves drinks and light snacks and is open from 9 am-5 pm every day. There’s also the Pavilion Café, in the west of the park on the edge of Victoria Lake, which makes delicious cooked meals.
• There are toilet facilities available at Victoria Park, and they are open from 12 pm-7:30 pm daily. The toilets are wheelchair accessible and also have baby changing facilities.
• The park is accessible for wheelchair users and buggies, as it is fully tarmacked and the paths are wide.

Getting there

• Victoria Park is a 30-minute drive from central London.
• There’s parking available at Victoria Park at the Lido car park, but spaces are limited, so if you can take public transport it’s probably a good idea.
• Victoria Park is easily accessible with public transport due to its London location. It’s a 15-minute walk from Bethnal Green Tube Station and a 20-minute walk from Mile End Tube Station, both on the Central line.
• You can also get to the park by train. Cambridge Heath station is on the London Overground and is a ten-minute walk from the park.
• For buses to Victoria Park, the 277 and 425 bus services both go along Grove Road, which cuts through the park.