This summer, now that we finally have some heat it’s well worth looking up some ‘wet’ areas in London, public fountains, pavement fountains, that sort of thing. Not lidos, we’ve never quite got on with the idea of a packed lido plus we have done plenty of lido round ups. No – places instead that are little bit different or all together new to dip your feet into, cool yourself and have a look at rather than having a full on swim.
The Kings Cross Granary Square is pretty much brand new. The scaffolding was only taken down around the outside over the past couple of weeks and it marks the first bit of new development for Kings Cross. What the Scaffolding was concealing was a huge, brand new square laid with smooth granite pavement slabs that hold, in the middle two criss cross networks of small water fountains. If you go up there on a sunny afternoon you’ll find both kids and adults are running back and forth through the little fountains that come up straight from the pavement. You can also have a little wonder down to the canal from here as new steps have been laid. You’ll also find the Ice Cream Festival here this Sept.
Image : © John Sturrock – image shows pools of water after the fountains have been turned off.
The Diana Prince of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park is open this time of year and is a stunning water feature that surprisingly you are allowed to dip your feet into. The water is running constantly from the water table making it extra refreshing for tired feet that have been walking about a park all day! If you want to get closer to some deeper water then hire a pedal boat on the lake.
The Scoop can be found at More London Riverside, between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, SE1 2DB. It is a sunken amphitheater right next to the river that has all sorts of events on, a little later this month it even has free outdoor Zumba classes. The fountains can be found right next to The Scoop.
The Barbican has a wonderful middle – if you venture inside you will find fountains, pools and beautiful hanging gardens. There is also a huge indoor green house packed with jungle plants and butterflies. You can have a seat around one of the many circular pools and enjoy a picnick – maybe go and have a look around the Museum of London afterwards too.
Another place where you can find the ever enchanting pavement fountains is infront of the Royal College of Arts. The exhibitions at the Royal College are sometimes paid for but the fountains are always free.
Moving into warm evenings and the water fountains at Wembly Arena are worth a trip themselves regardless of wether you have tickets to anything or not. Full of multicolored lights with a beautiful backdrop- go when something is on and it’ll be nice and quiet for you to enjoy – just be sure to leave before whatever it is finishes or you’ll be swept up in the masses.
The circular iron water feature in Windrush Sq, Brixton offers several different water feature experiences with fountains and mists that create a rainbow effect when the sun comes out.
Just last year an interactive water feature opened up in Plaistow Park called the splash pad. We can’t find any images of it for you sadly but it is a rubber based paddling pool with all different types of water jets and things going on. You will probably have to push a few kiddies out the way to get involved but if you go in the day when they are all meant to be at school it should be pretty empty.
