Diana Memorial Fountain
a fountain you can paddle in
A ring of flowing Cornish granite in Hyde Park where you can dip your feet, designed to reflect the spirit of Princess Diana.
Free to visit · Hyde Park · Knightsbridge · W2 2UH
Opening: Daily, daylight hours
Unlike most memorials, the Diana fountain invites you to touch it. It is a wide oval channel of beautifully smooth Cornish granite, with water flowing in two directions around the ring, bubbling over textures in some stretches and gliding calm in others, meant to capture Diana's open and inclusive spirit.
On warm days people sit along the edge with their feet in the cool water and children paddle in the shallows, which is exactly what the designer intended. Set on the grass between the Serpentine and the trees, it is a free, gentle, very un-stuffy place to rest in the middle of Hyde Park.
Getting there: In Hyde Park near the Serpentine, a short walk from Knightsbridge or Lancaster Gate.
Best time to go: A warm afternoon when you can sit on the edge and cool your feet in the water.
Insider tip: On a hot day take your shoes off and sit on the edge with your feet in the flow, it is allowed and lovely. The smoother calm side and the rushing textured side feel completely different, so try both.
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide