10 Beautiful And Historic Spots To Explore In Autumn

London is, by UN standards, an ‘urban forest’. The sheer number of trees and the huge array of delightful open spaces, means that when Autumn comes around, London is an explosion of reds, yellows and oranges.

Here are 10 stunning spots to explore in London in Autumn, along with, of course, the history behind them. Think I have missed any? Let me know in the comments!

1. Little Venice

First up, a classic. With its houseboats, stuccoed Regency architecture and colourful shrubbery, Little Venice has got to be one of the most picturesque spots in London in the Autumn months.

The area known as ‘Little Venice’ centres around Browning’s Pool, at the intersection between the Regent’s Canal and the Grand Union Canal. It was created in the 1810’s when the Regent’s Canal was constructed to transport goods such as coal around London. The pool is named after the poet Robert Browning, who lived on nearby Warwick Crescent from 1862- 1867.

Browning is credited by some with coming up with name ‘Little Venice’, although others attribute it to Lord Byron.

To have a look at my historical self-guided canal walk, click here.

2. St Dunstan In The East

Visit St Dunstan in the East and you will find the shell of a medieval church, originally built in 1100 but repaired extensively after the Great Fire of London in 1666 by Sir Christopher Wren.

The rest of the church was destroyed during the Blitz in 1941. It was decided not to rebuild the church after the war but instead to turn it into a tranquil and enchanting public garden.

3. Primrose Hill

The view over the city to St Paul’s Cathedral from Primrose Hill is one of the protected views in the city and one of the best in London. At Autumn, looking over the treetops of varying hues, it is all the more spectacular.

Primrose Hill, like the rest of Regent’s Park, was once part of King Henry VIII’s hunting ground. In 1841 it was acquired by Eton College for the poor of North London.

It was apparently a notorious spot for duels and prize-fighting in the 18th century and in the 19th century was the proposed location for a giant pyramidal necropolis. It was part of the plan to solve the problem of where to bury people in Victorian London. Find out more about that here.

4. Richmond Park and Isabella Plantation

Richmond Park, with its roaming deer herds, is the quintessential autumnal London destination.

At 2500 acres, it is the largest of the royal parks and has a wide variety of landscapes including hills, woodland and gardens.

Henry VII built Richmond Palace in 1500, giving the area its royal connection from that point onwards. Charles I moved his court to Richmond to flee the plague and enclosed the park in 1637, at the same time introducing the deer and allowing public right of way.

Isabella Plantation is a particularly pretty corner of the park. It is a woodland garden laid out after WW2 and organically run with a wide variety of plants and trees.

Find out more about visiting Richmond Park here.

5. St Pancras Gardens

St Pancras Gardens, near King’s Cross, is a lovely peaceful spot for an autumnal explore. The collection of mature plane and lime trees provide a relatively thick canopy that, in the right weather, create beautiful dappled light.

It is also incredibly historic! St Pancras Old Church, at the centre, is thought to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in the country, although the current building is predominantly Victorian.

The gardens are part of the old graveyard and contain many historic monuments, including Sir John Soane’s mausoleum and the grave of Mary Wollstonecraft.

You will also see one of London’s strangest sights: a tree surrounded by stacked gravestones, known as the Hardy Tree. Find out more about that in my blog post here.

6. The Magnificent Seven Cemeteries

In the 1800’s London’s population was growing rapidly. Inner city graveyards filled up and most had to be closed by the 1830’s.

To cater to demand, new private cemeteries were created away from central London, at Highgate, Stoke Newington, Tower Hamlets, Kensal Rise, Nunhead, Brompton and West Norwood. They became known as the Magnificent Seven Cemeteries and make great autumnal walking spots.

You can read my blog post about Abney Park in Stoke Newington here.

7. Admiralty Citadel

Bit of curveball this one. Construction on the brutalist Admiralty Citadel, next to Horse Guards Parade, began in 1940. With a 20ft thick concrete roof and 30ft foundations, it was designed as a secure bomb-proof bunker and acted as the command centre for the Admiralty during the Second World War.

It is a great building to observe throughout the seasons. The ivy/creeper covering the exterior, changes slowly from green to red in the Autumn months before finally falling off to expose the stone beneath.

You can find out more about the history of this unusual building here. Go and see the Admiralty Citadel followed by a stroll through St James’s Park.

8. Greenwich Park

Greenwich Park was enclosed in 1433 by the Duke of Gloucester, the first Royal Park to be so. He built a manor here called Bella Court.

Henry VII built the Palace of Placentia or Greenwich Palace in its place in 1500. It was one of Henry VIII’s favourite palaces and the deer, that can still be seen today, were introduced by him for hunting.

Charles II remodelled the park and many of the avenues such as Blackheath Avenue were laid out at this time. It was also Charles II who supported the building of the Royal Observatory here in 1675.

9. Hampstead Pergola

Another absolutely stunning spot is the Hampstead Pergola and Hill Garden.

The faded grandeur of the pergola, in combination with an array of colourful shrubbery, climbers and flowers is breath-taking at Autumn.

The Hampstead Pergola was constructed in 1906 by Lord Leverhulme in the garden of his grand manor house, as a venue to host extravagant garden parties.

After Leverhulme’s death in 1925 it passed through a few different hands and fell into dilapidation and decline. The gardens were restored and opened to the public in 1963.

You can read more about the history here.

10. The Embankments

The Victoria, Albert and Chelsea embankments, lined as they are with leafy plane trees, make for great autumnal ambles.

The embankments were built in the 1860’s and 70’s; reclaiming thousands of acres from the river. The Victoria and Chelsea embankments were built to contain a new main sewer for Joseph Bazalgette’s new sewage system for the city. All three also improved transport and gave the burgeoning city’s population more space.

There are plenty of quirky historical sights to see along the embankments from camel benches to ancient Egyptian obelisks. You can read my self-guided walk called ‘Beasts of the Embankments’ here.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!