Battersea Park straddles
the Thames, close to the popular London shopping street,
Kings Road. A
pagoda, a large children's
playground, and a children's
zoo are just some of the features of this park.
During the winter, the boating lake is sometimes frozen over, which is really rather beautiful. During the summer, families can picnic in the open, grassy areas, and there's always an ice-cream van.
Rollerblading and cycling is not supposed to be tolerated in the centre of the park, although most people turn a blind eye to it.
Renovations are being made in large areas of the park, and if you ever get a chance to visit, take a look at the plans for the new park, it should be very beautiful.
Wildlife is in abundance in Battersea Park, the third most common species, after humans and pigeons, is the dog. Battersea Park is a favourite place for Chelsea-dwelling Londoners to walk their dogs. Fun to test out if dogs really do look like their owners! According to http://www.cix.co.uk/~batesmw/, "while feeding the ducks you will often see Herons, Cormorants, Grebes, and Black Swans".
Battersea Park has been enjoyed by Londoners for almost 150 years, since its opening in 1854 (thanks to http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/batterseapark/bphistory.htm for that info).