13 best London parks for autumn walks

It’s not just the usual assortment of gorgeous British trees like oaks and willows that makes Battersea Park such a special autumn destination – its variety of gardens (from subtropical to winter) make it one of the city’s more fascinating green spaces. The hybrid strawberry tree with its red bark is a standout, and by autumn’s end it’s covered in fruit and white flowers.

Crunch your way through flame-coloured leaves around the palace, check out the cute crop of pumpkins in the walled gardens, and buy fruit and veg harvested from the grounds to take home and feast on once you’ve has enough fresh, autumnal air.

Some of the trees in this gorgeous hillside royal park – which was laid out by Henry VIII as a deer park for hunting (his fave leisure activity) – date back to 1600, and taking pride of place are the avenues of 400-year-old Spanish sweet chestnuts. In autumn they produce edible nuts you can collect. And if that’s not the taste of autumn, we don’t know what is.

Hampstead Heath is a romantic setting all year round, but add autumn hues and it reaches new levels. Spend the day wandering across its grassy sprawl, exploring its meadows and magical woodland areas.

This 350-acre Royal Park is an oasis of arboreal beauty nestled between the tourist crush of Oxford Street and the Henries and Tabithas of Kensington. With more than 4,000 trees, it is especially amazing in autumn: look out for the buttery yellows and firey oranges of the beeches, limes and chestnuts that line the avenues along the Serpentine. 

This beautiful 40-acre woodland garden set within a Victorian woodland plantation in Richmond Park will send you into a snap-happy frenzy thanks to the rich bounty of red and orange hues. Evergreen azaleas line the ponds and streams, there are heaps of unusual trees and shrubs peppered across the garden, and beyond its gates you’ll find red and fallow deer roaming free in Richmond Park. 

Head to Holland Park and you’ll find the Japanese-style Kyoto Gardens. A gift to London in 1991 from the chamber of commerce of Kyoto, the garden’s got a waterfall, bridge and a handful of koi carp. This time of year sees its edges fringed with orange leaves and plenty of people using it as a backdrop for their selfies.

Kew Gardens looks flippin’ lush in autumn, and with wild meadows, gardens bursting with pretty flora and treetop walkways to explore, you could stay there until the seasons change again. You can’t visit without making a stop at the Victorian Palm House or the newly restored Temperate House to marvel at their tropical plants.

This former deer park is the perfect location for an autumnal day out. Limes and horse chestnuts are planted along the park’s historic avenues, delivering a healthy injection of colour, while magical mists hang over the river and wetland area on chilly mornings.

Wander between ivy-clad angels and crumbling tombstones slowly being taken over by greenery at Nunhead Cemetery, a south London burial ground steeped in history. The site is open daily, or book a guided tour with the Friends of Nunhead Cemetery. 

Slap-bang in the middle of London, St James’s Park always serves up some top fiery foliage and, according to Instagram, some very cute squirrels scampering about within it. Swing by the central lake, where you’ll find wildfowl including pelicans hanging out, and hop on to the bridge for excellent views of Buckingham Palace.

Set in a disused nineteenth-century cemetery, this is the only woodland in Tower Hamlets and its 33 acres are home to a wide variety of wild plants and animals. Autumn often sees pumpkin-carving, bat walks and family-friendly storytelling events taking place in the turning greenery – and this year is no exception, despite the obvious challenges!

Old Vicky P is usually home to countless ravers throughout the summer festival season, but calm returns as the days get shorter and the temperatures start to drop. The silver birches, planes, oaks and rare purple-leaved Norway maples are all East End autumnal delights to behold.