Just around the corner from the
British Museum you'll find
Russell Square Gardens, an area popular with local workers, nearby residents, and tourists - and amazingly it never seems to get
that busy.
The original square was designed in the early 1800s by one of England's most famous landscape gardeners of the day, a gentleman by the name of Humphry Repton.
Russell Square Gardens has undergone many alterations over the years, but in 2002 it underwent its biggest and most significant changes, bringing it back to something close to the original design laid down by Repton.
The 2002 work included the reintroduction of the serpentine paths which once again weave between the lawns and flower beds. The central horseshoe-shaped path has also been restored.
The square is bordered by trees, hedges and shrubbery, allowing visitors to feel some sense of isolation from the busy city outside.
Inside you'll find a fountain at its centre, colourful flower beds, lawns to lie on, plenty of benches (should the grass be wet) and a cafe - also built as part of the restoration work carried out in 2002.
If the weather permits, the gardens are the ideal place to take the weight off your feet after a shopping trip along nearby Oxford Street.
Other places of interest located close to the square include St. Pancras International station,
Wellcome Collection, the
British Library and several popular central London spots such as Covent Garden and Soho.
Today Russell Square Gardens is recognised as a place of historic landscape importance and is Grade II registered by English Heritage. It is also the proud holder of a
Green Flag Award and in 2010 received a gold award from
London in Bloom.
