OffBeat London: Crystal Palace Park
 

A London i enjoy is the one outside the tourist hub where foreign tourists seem to rule the day and in its real neighborhoods. One place i've spent a lot of time in is at Crystal Palace, having camped there in the Caravan Harbour many times. Though the rather upscale blue-collar neighborhood is nice it's like many others in London. It's Crystal Palace Park and the remains of the famous Crystal Palace that attract me. The huge park is one of the most popular in London and on a nice summy weekend day it's mobbed with families - there's a tiny train running around it, etc. But the park's main attraction are a series of behemoth sculptures of dinosaurs dating from the 1860s i believe - maybe done by Paxton - if not some other famous artist; the statues are just now being recognized for the great works of art they are, after years of thought of as being kitschy. They are arranged in a re-created natural setting in ponds, etc. also in the park is the Crystal Palace stadium, the training area for British Olympic athletes and swimmers and most romantic for me, the remains of the once collosal Crystal Palace itself. The Palace once stood in Hyde Park during a World's Fair in the 1850s and was hugely popular - Queen Victoria was said to have visited it almost daily - this immense glass house housed huge trees and showcased the then best British products and inventions. After the fair the palace was moved to today's Crystal Palace Park, in Sydenham, and rebuilt there high on a hill with views for miles around. It remained a big attraction until about 1936 when it burned down in a spectacular fire that could be seen all over London. Today the site is bare, with just a few old statuary and fountains standing forlorn and roped off. Plans recently were floated to rebuilt the Crystal Palace as it was, but whether this will come to fruition or not is questionable. Anyway, a trip to Crystal Palace lets you see a bit of the real London away from the tourist hubbub. Visit the large Safeway supermarket here and hit their deli for great takeout picnic fare and enjoy your day. Trains run frequently to the Crystal Palace station, or many buses run up here from central London.
Anyone been to Crystal Palace park? Comments?

In summer weekends there are outdoor concerts in the park's amphitheatre.

This is great stuff PalQ... thanks for posting. This is the sort of thing I'll enjoy when I can get to the UK...
soon, I hope.

You can see models of the Crystal Palace, and a full explanation of the significance of the Great Exhibition (together with some of the exhibits) in the British Galleries at the Victoria and Albert - the South Kensington Museums, the Albert Hall and Imperial College all owe their existence to the money made by the Exhibition, which was I suppose the first great international trade fair.

It sounds interesting. I might check it out when I'm there in March. How exactly do you get there from central London?

Best way is train from London Bridge, Charing X or just about any London station, about 25 mins, only five miles; London Travelcards can used - probably need 3 or 4 zone. thanks for the model if the Palace at V & A. Since camping above its ruins for years i've become mesmerized by the Crystal Palace. there were apparently several such glass palaces of that era and i guess all burned down eventually.

Try this for info on Crystal Palace:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/yourlond...ce/index.shtml

thanks 1smith for the site: Interesting that bbc is in it - the BBC's transmitting tower stands high above everything at Crystal Palace, perched on one of the highest hills in greater London - the huge EiffelTower-esque structure can be see from all over London, along with its shorter twin tower about a mile away along the same ridge.

If going to Crystal Palace you can also visit nearby Dulwich, a leafy upscale area with the famous Dulwich private school and the much lauded Dulwich Picture Gallery, with a raft of Old Master art i think.

Another neat part of the park's history is the dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins are there, although it sounds like they are not normally open to the public. Check out the wonderful children's book The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins: An Illuminating History of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, Artist and Lecturer. It is a fascinating story.

Maybe these are the dinosaurs i referred to in above posts - i said Paxton or somebody - if it's the dinosaurs i remember they are huge statues in swamp setting and have been lauded as among the first realistic such representations when they were executed in the 1800s. Must be the same - thanks for the reference. If it's the same they are in the open and have been open to the public - right near the small zoo in the vicinity of the Crystal Palace train station.

These must be the same and thanks! We love this book, check it out of the library, it is wonderful -- not your typical children's book! It details the making of the sculptures and how revolutionary they were when first installed. We're going to the Park on our next trip to London, thanks for the tip.

Just took a walk around Crystal Palace a few weeks ago...

The Crystal Palace Museum, documenting the palace's history, has a sign on it that it's open Sat Aun 11am-4pm - this will make the ruins of today spring to life.

The park is still a great great park - sprawling; a dog walkers heaven.

The town itself has become a bit more upscale...cappuccino-touting cafes replacing the former greasy spoon ones, though one of these remains.

To get to the museum from the Crystal Palace train station just walk up the hill about 400 metres and it's in a small building on the right - the building i believe is one of the surviving supports of the old palace.

I don't know anywhere in London where "foreign tourists rule the day".

There may be a few places none of us go near, like Horrid's or Mme Tussaud's, that depend on foreign tourists. But most of the things people come and look at get most of their traffic from us.

There isn't a "real London" tucked away somewhere. The British Museum or Tate Britain are no less a part of the world we all live in than the Crystal Palace dinosaur or Walthamstow Dog Track. And the tourist honeypots get a lot more Londoners visiting them than any modish club or football ground.

All of which said, the Crystal Palace dinosaurs are indeed fab. Though I imagine the Safeway is rather less so since Morrison's took it over.

<I don't know anywhere in London where "foreign tourists rule the day".>

Have you ever gone to the Leicester Square to Piccaddily Circus drag - more German and French school groups and foreign tourists than English here.

Check out Trocadero Centre and see how many Brits are throwing their money away, literally!