Royal Parks Remain Open

But road access to Richmond Park and take-away cafes and kiosks are now closed


Richmond Park - open to all

The Royal Parks will remain open for visitors,however the take-away cafes kiosks and road access to some parks are closed.



A spokesperson said: “The Royal Parks remain open and are vitally important at this time. However, social distancing, as set out by the Government, is absolutely crucial. We have, therefore, taken the decision to close all our remaining take-away cafes and kiosks with immediate effect as people are not adhering to social distancing guidelines.

" We have also made the decision, based on police advice, to start closing our roads to traffic in the outer parks (Richmond, Bushy and Greenwich Parks). Roads will remain open in the inner parks (Hyde, Regent’s, St James’s Parks), but all designated car parks are now only open for key workers with a permit.

“We will keep this situation under constant review. If people do not follow social distancing guidelines, we will have no choice but to consider closing the parks.”

The parks provide visitors with crucial access to vital green spaces and present a wealth of opportunities for visitors to help boost their physical and mental wellbeing in these uncertain times.

The Royal Parks charity is closely monitoring Government advice on COVID-19 and is following the advice of Public Health England. In order to prevent the spread of the virus through social contact in a busy space, the charity is taking all appropriate measures to keep visitors safe and healthy during this time.

The following measures have been put in place:
• All playgrounds will be closed to public access from Wednesday 18th March until further notice, in order to help people with social distancing.
• All sports bookings (including school bookings) at The Hub in The Regent’s Park will be cancelled with immediate effect until 19th April, when the situation will be reviewed. No additional bookings will be taken until further notice.
• All of The Royal Parks’ learning and education programmes, community programmes and volunteer activities have been cancelled with immediate effect until the end of April, when we will review the situation.
• All small events being held in a Royal Park between 18th March and 30th April will be cancelled.
• Park toilets will remain free of charge until further notice, in order to provide visitors with hand washing facilities.
• All park offices are now closed to the public until further notice.

Please check The Royal Parks’ website for daily updates www.royalparks.org.uk/coronavirus as well as our Twitter feed @theroyalparks .

March 23, 2020