Speakers' Corner

The lowdown

The north-east corner of Hyde Park has been the home of free speech in Britain for more than a century and a half, and watching the spectacle is completely free. Anyone can turn up, stand on a box and speak their mind on absolutely anything, and the crowd is more than welcome to argue right back.

It is at its best on a Sunday morning, when a row of speakers hold forth on religion, politics, philosophy and conspiracy all at once, fielding heckles with practised wit. The right to gather and speak here was hard won, on a spot that was once the public gallows at Tyburn, which gives the whole place a charge of history.

You do not need to say a word yourself, just join the crowd, pick a speaker and enjoy one of the last great free shows of pure, unfiltered London argument. Marx, Orwell and Lenin all spoke here, and the tradition rolls on.