Richmond Park
wild deer, half an hour from town
London's wildest Royal Park, free, where six hundred red and fallow deer roam free across two and a half thousand acres, with a protected telescope view of St Paul's.
Free to visit · Richmond · Richmond · TW10 5HS
Opening: Daily · 7am or 7:30am to dusk
Richmond is the biggest of London's Royal Parks and the wildest by a mile, two and a half thousand acres of rough grassland, ancient oaks and bracken that feels like proper countryside. The shock is that it is still London, half an hour from Waterloo, and entirely free.
The deer are the reason everyone comes. Around six hundred red and fallow deer have roamed here freely since 1637, and you will come across whole herds lying in the grass or crossing the road in front of you. They are wild animals, so you keep your distance, especially in the autumn rut and the spring birthing season.
Climb to King Henry's Mound and there is a strange treat, a telescope framing a protected view of St Paul's Cathedral ten miles away, a sightline that has been kept clear by law for centuries. A free park, free deer and a free secret view, all in one.
Getting there: A walk or short bus up the hill from Richmond at the end of the District line, or Mortlake and North Sheen on the train.
Best time to go: Early morning for the quiet and the deer, or autumn for the rut when the stags bellow and clash. Keep a good distance from the deer year round.
Insider tip: Find King Henry's Mound in the Pembroke Lodge gardens and look through the keyhole telescope. On a clear day it frames St Paul's, ten miles off, a protected view that no building is allowed to block. Almost nobody who visits the park knows it is there.
Official site: https://www.royalparks.org.uk/visit/parks/richmond-park
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide