Ride A Horse – Saddling up in London is easy. Hyde Park has its own stables where you can learn to ride or go for a trot on the park’s many trails. The 1215-hectare Wimbledon Common has 100-year-old stables. Here you can sign up for riding lessons, riding holidays and day rides through ancient woodlands. Next door at Richmond Park is the Stag Lodge Stables where you can go on a ride from pub to pub. Other equestrian endeavours at the stables take you through some of London’s most beautiful wilds. The Lee Valley Riding Centre in east London offers cross-country riding through marshes, showjumping and pony days.
Row Your Boat – Paddling is big in London. In Epping Forest, one of the city most important conservation areas, hop aboard a wooden boat for a gentle hour of rowing at 15 pounds, in Regent’s Park an hour of pedaling an adult Pedalo will set you back 10 pounds, while in Hyde Park one hour of rowing on the Serpentine comes at 12 pounds. Wimbledon Park has an extensive watersports centre where you can sail, kayak and stand-up paddle board. Other parks that offer rowing include Victoria Park, Finsbury Park and Greenwich Park.
Go To The Beach – Summer in London gets hot and calls for a couple of inner-city days on the beach. Beach East in the Queen Victoria Olympic Park is the UK’s largest urban beach and opens its shores between July and September. It includes a vast area of fine, deep sand, two large paddling pools, funfair rides and beach bars. Northwest London also has a family-favourite manmade beach at the Ruislip Lido. It comes with jungle gyms and a cafe and borders the Ruislip Woods should you fancy a walk.
Husky Sledding – There’s no need to go to the poles to sled with huskies. Situated 32 kilometres outside of London in Kent is the Husky Experience where you get to drive with sled dogs and meet over 26 huskies. Some of the activities offered include guided tours of the husky kennels, learning the basics of husky training, camping out with huskies and driving three-wheeled husky racing trikes.
Cycle The Streets – The British government runs a Cycle to Work scheme, which allows employers to lend bicycles and cycling equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. The result it that thousands of Londoners commute to work on the city’s cyclist-friendly routes. Some of these routes form part of Britain’s National Cycle Network, which stretches for 22 530 kilometres across the country. All the routes on the network provide dedicated cycling lanes through green spaces. You’ll forget that you’re in a major city as you pedal beneath lush thickets.
Ice Skate At Somerset House – Few things announce the arrival of the festive season quite as well as skating at Somerset House. From November every year Somerset House is transformed into a Christmas wonderland and at its heart is a gigantic ice rink. Skates can be hired and marshals are on standby to assist wobbly skaters. Take a break at the Skate Lounge where hot chocolate, cheese fondues and wines are served.
Take A Dip In London’s Wild Waters – Swimming in ponds, lakes and lidos is an ideal way to reconnect to Mother Nature and London has a surprising number of options. Hampstead Heath, known as London’s green lung, boasts three ponds specifically open for swimming. Each pond – the Mixed, the Men’s and the Ladies’-once served as a reservoir, but today they are all open to the public and guarded throughout the year. Another popular swimming haunt is the Serpentine lido in Hyde Park. This 100m swimming division forms part of the larger Serpentine Lake, which is frequented by ducks, swans and other feathery creatures, it’s also London’s oldest swimming club and particularly popular among triathletes. Other public swimming spots include the Charlton Lido in southeast London, London Fields Lido in Hackney, the Tooting Bee Lido and Brockwell Lido in south London.
