Our last full day in London started out early and was packed. I had made a list of things I wanted to see and first up was to the Peter Pan statue at Kensington Gardens. The story of Peter Pan has always been one of my favorites every since I was little. We took the Victoria Line from Kings Cross and switched over to the Central Line at Oxford Circus and got off at Lancaster Gate. This was the quickest way for us to get to the Peter Pan statue without having to walk through the entire park.
The Kensington Gardens were originally a part of the royal hunting grounds of Henry VIII along with Hyde Park. In 1728 the two parks were broken up and the Kensington Gardens became private gardens for the Kensington Palace. Now they are one of the Royal Parks of London and are west of Hyde Park.
It was really peaceful to be in the gardens early in the morning. We only had enough time to walk to the statue and look around at the Italian garden that was by the entrance. It was nice to walk around and see the flowers and get as much of fresh air as you can in London since the air tends to turn anything you sneeze black. We followed the path past fountains in the Italian garden and a little way down along the Long Water (which turns into the Serpentine). We saw all sorts of animals and even a Heron sitting along the water.
The Peter Pan statue is over 100 years old and was made by George Frampton. The statue was commissioned in 1912 by J.M. Barrie (the author of Peter Pan) and seven more versions of it made from the same cast can be found around the world.
Now the statue includes an interactive feature for those with smart phones and receive a call back from Peter Pan. It’s a three minute monologue. So far 35 other statues around London now include this interactive addition.