This post is part of our Best Parks for Running in London series – put together by our dedicated running clinic team.
Hyde Park is a sprawling, green and beautiful park providing the ultimate in Central London running opportunities. Whether you like trail running, road running, casual running or power walking, you can really do it all in this park.
The perimeter loop of hyde park is almost dead on 7km and there are plenty of 5km run tracks you can find and that we will talk more about here.
About Hyde Park
When you think of Central London parks, the first that comes to mind is likely Hyde Park. Located right in the centre of London is Hyde park, a huge, green, open space which enables visitors to relax, exercise and connect with nature.
Like Central Park in Manhattan Hyde Park is a wonderful escape & resource to all those that live nearby and visit. It is one of Central London’s largest parks and provides a wide array of amenities and activities including swimming in the serpentine lake which is located in the centre of the park and roller skating alongside the lake.
For runners, Hyde Park offers a huge range of routes, running types & terrains to work from providing endless amounts of opportunities to get enjoyable and really effective exercise sessions completed.
Another great benefit of running in the Royal Parks in Central London is that there are refreshment huts located within each providing you with the opportunity to purchase water OR get a post workout meal should you need. There are also public toilets available in most of London’s Royal Parks which are usually kept to a clean hygienic standard and are appropriate for all genders.
Within Hyde Park you also have the Serpentine cafe which is located right next to the lake and produces some really great breakfast, lunch & dinner options servicing your needs all day long.
Getting to Hyde Park
Hyde Park has lots of tube station access points. Please find below a list and the rough entry points to the park which are closest to the tube station
- Marble Arch (Central Line) – 2 min walk to speakers corner which is located in the far north eastern part of the park
- Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly Line) – 30s walk to the most southern eastern park of the park
- Knightsbridge (Picaddilly line) – 2 mins walk to the south central section of the park
- High Street Kensington (Circle, District and Overground) – 4-5 min walk to the most south western part of the park which contains Kensington Palace
- Queensway (Central Line) – 2 min walk to the most north western section of the park which has Diana’s childrens playpark
- Lancaster Gate (Central Line) – 2 min walk to the north central section of the park which enters where the most beautiful fountain display are located
Hyde Park Corner Bus Stop Routes: 2, 13, 16, 36, 38, 52, 148, 390, N2, N38 (N provides night service providing 24 hours access via these routes)
Marble Arch Bus Stop Routes: 2, 13, 16, 23, 36, 74, 137, 148, 390, 414, N2, N16 (N provides night service providing 24 hours access via these routes)
Hyde Park is also one of the best connected locations for Santander bikes.
Hyde Park is located between Notting Hill & High Street Kensington, Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner. On the far west side of the park you will find high street Kensington and on the far east side of the park you will find Mayfair. All surrounding locations are in the boroughs of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea and are considered to be the wealthiest and most affluent boroughs in Central London with Hyde Park providing one of the major attractions and reasons for living nearby.
Hyde Park 5km Running Routes
The total perimeter of the park is approximately 7km meaning there is ample room for you to complete your 5km run without having to complete loops or laps of the same park.
This is one of the really nice things about running in Hyde Park – it provides you with an amazing scenery and an amazing escape from the hustle and bustle of the busier parts of the city.
If you prefer to complete loops & laps you could start near the serpentine lake and run around the lake itself. The lake is beautiful and passes the fountains located at the far north section and then comes back around to pass the Serpentine swimming club and Princess Diana’s memorial fountain – which is spectacular to say the least.
Hyde Park 10km Running Routes
If you’re looking for a relatively flat (with no incline) opportunity to complete a 10km run in Central London then look no further than Hyde Park.
No matter where you start from, a perimeter lap of Hyde Park is roughly 7km making 1.5 laps almost dead on 10km.
If you want to challenge yourself by adding different terrains types to your 10km run in Hyde Park you can run in the horse track which is located roughly between the Knightsbridge section of the park all the way around to Marble Arch and then continues around to almost Lancaster Gate section – this provides for a really tough running workout.
If you are looking for a simple 10km run then sticking to the paths and perimeter of the park for 1.5 laps will do the job really nicely. The park itself isn’t very hilly (there are a few minor ups and downs but mostly flat).
Hyde Park Trail Runs
Not keen on running and concrete and prefer to run trail? No worries, Hyde Park has you covered. Its possible to complete an entire lap of hyde park hugging the perimeter with barely having to touch concrete.
The horse tracks provides for excellent trail running practice and if you want to delve of course from the perimeter there are plent of wooded and wild grassed areas for you to run through without having to step foot on concrete at all. This provides an excellent training ground for improving your trail running technique and for training your body to become more used to different terrains.
Favourite Running Routes Around Hyde Park
Again depending on where you start from our favourite routes are:
- Clockwise 10km lap starting high street kensington end moving to notting hill end and then looping round to Marble Arch, down to Hyde Park corner, along past Knightsbridge section and back to high street Kensington finishing with a sprint back to Notting Hill
- Anti clockwise 10km starting from Hyde Park corner entrance, moving up to Marble Arch, running along the length to Queensway before heading down through Kensington Gardens to High Street Kensington section and then back along the length to Hyde Park corner passing Knightsbridge
- 5km lake loop – starting anywhere on the Serpentine and completing two laps in either direction – this is a beautiful, scenic and exhilarating run.
Running in Hyde Park at Night
Hyde Park is open 365 24/7 and is totally open with no gates or restrictions. The lighting around the park is exceptional providing amazing running facilities for runners year round.
Hyde Park is a safe and open space which is usually policed heavily as the police station is located in the centre of the park – adding to the secure and safe feeling overall.
Does Hyde Park have an Organised Parkrun?
The Royal Parks Half Marathon is an excellent run that runs annually and starts from Hyde Park.
There are hundreds of other runs available and further to this if you are a Strava user you will find literally thousands of routes to use and work from providing you with endless opportunities and also mini competitions!
