Green, gorgeous and mostly free: Southwark’s parks, sorted
Parks in Southwark
You don’t really notice it until you stop and think – but Southwark’s got loads of good parks. Boating lakes, big open lawns, a couple with art galleries hiding inside them, even a woodland with a view of St Paul’s. The only real question is which one – so that’s what this is for.
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Burgess Park
Address: Albany Road, London SE5 (the main entrances are on Albany Road, the Old Kent Road, Chumleigh Street and Wells Way)
Burgess Park is a 56-hectare park in SE5 – the largest in Southwark – stretching from Camberwell and Walworth across to the Old Kent Road. Built over decades from cleared streets and a filled-in canal, it has a fishing lake, a national-standard BMX track, free electric cooking hotplates, tennis and sports courts, an outdoor gym, big playgrounds and the Chumleigh world gardens. It’s free, and always open.
The park is perfect for families and big days out, runners and cyclists, sporty types of every kind, dog walkers and anglers, picnic-and-barbecue groups and nature lovers – and anyone after a genuinely diverse, buzzing bit of green to call their local.
Here’s what more than a thousand visitors make of Burgess Park:
• The sheer size – “the Hyde Park of South London,” room to breathe and get properly lost.
• The lake – fishing, wildlife, and sunsets over the water.
• The sport – the BMX track, tennis, basketball, football, table tennis and a brilliant outdoor gym.
• The free cooking hotplates – a rarity in London, and a real summer draw.
• The events and the diversity – summer festivals, the Chumleigh world gardens, and a genuinely mixed crowd.
• Parkrun – Saturday at 9, hundreds strong and friendly, plus a junior run.
• The transformation – once neglected, now one of the best-loved parks in South London.
Choose Burgess Park for sheer space – 56 hectares, the biggest in Southwark – with wide, open paths made for cycling, scooting and long runs, and huge lawns with room for a big group, a game or a proper picnic. A modern, made-from-scratch park where the whole point is space and freedom to move.
Nearest station: Elephant & Castle (Northern, Bakerloo + National Rail), then a short bus or walk. Buses run along every edge – the 53, 63, 78, 168, 172, 363 and 453 on the Old Kent Road; the 12, 35, 40, 45, 68 and 468 on Camberwell Road; the 42 and 343 on Albany Road.
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Southwark Park
Address: Gomm Road, London SE16 2ET (gates on Gomm Road, Jamaica Road, Lower Road and Southwark Park Road)
Southwark Park is a 25-hectare Victorian park in SE16, between Bermondsey and Rotherhithe – one of London’s oldest, opened in 1869. It has a boating lake with weekend pedalos, a big playground, a free outdoor gym, table tennis and Saturday parkrun, plus two free contemporary-art galleries. It’s free to get in – one of the best-value days out in the borough.
The park is perfect for families, runners and dog walkers, couples and culture-seekers, history and nature lovers – and anyone after a cheap, green day out in SE16.
Here’s what more than a thousand visitors make of Southwark Park:
• It genuinely has the lot – the phrase people often say is “it has it all.”
• The boating lake – pedalos, ducks, swans and the odd parakeet.
• The two free galleries – the bit nobody expects and plenty end up loving most.
• The Victorian calm – an age and stillness you don’t get in a newer park.
• Brilliant for families – toddler and big-kid playgrounds, and space to run them ragged.
• The value – so much of it costs nothing.
• The events – carnival, craft-beer festival, lantern shows.
Choose Southwark Park over others in London for flat, paved paths – easy going with a buggy, a wheelchair or running shoes – a good mix of open sun and mature-tree shade, and a lot packed close together in one walkable space. A park with tonnes of character and variety just two minutes from the tube, without the crowds or the hills.
Nearest stations: Surrey Quays (Overground) and Canada Water (Jubilee and Overground, step-free), both about a 6–7 minute walk, with Bermondsey (Jubilee) and South Bermondsey (rail) also close by.
