the boy who never grew up, where the book says

Peter Pan Statue

FreeHidden gem

Kensington Gardens · Lancaster Gate

The 1912 bronze of the boy who never grew up, hidden in Kensington Gardens on the exact spot from the story.

Getting there. On the west bank of the Long Water in Kensington Gardens, near Lancaster Gate.

The lowdown

J.M. Barrie loved Kensington Gardens and set part of Peter Pan here, so in 1912 he secretly commissioned a statue of his creation and had it installed overnight on the exact spot where, in the story, Peter lands after flying out of the nursery. Children woke to find it as if by magic, which was rather the point.

The bronze shows Peter playing his pipes on a tree stump alive with fairies, rabbits and squirrels worn shiny by generations of small hands. It is free, a little hidden, and well worth seeking out on a walk by the Long Water, a piece of storytelling planted quietly in the park.

Locals only

The insider tip

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It is on the west side of the Long Water, not signposted from far off, so follow the path north from the Italian Gardens. Look low on the base for the tiny fairies and animals climbing up toward Peter.

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