Richmond Park

Charles I enclosed this ground in 1637 as a hunting park during a plague outbreak, walling in around a thousand hectares and the commoners' rights with it, which caused lasting resentment; a local brewer, John Lewis, won a court case in 1758 restoring public access on foot. The deer were never removed and around six hundred red and fallow deer still live there, culled twice a year to keep the herd within the grazing. The park is a national nature reserve for its ancient oaks and the stag beetles they support, some trees standing since before the enclosure. King Henry's Mound has a protected sightline to St Paul's Cathedral sixteen kilometres away, kept clear by law, and the Isabella Plantation is a woodland garden of azaleas.

What you actually see

• The free-roaming deer - six hundred red and fallow across open grass and bracken.
• The ancient oaks - trees several centuries old supporting rare beetles.
• King Henry's Mound - a protected view to St Paul's sixteen kilometres away.
• The Isabella Plantation - a woodland garden at its peak in late April and May.

When to go

September and October for the rut, when stags roar and clash and the park is at its most dramatic; late April and May for the azaleas. Early mornings bring mist and the best light.

Honest expectations

Deer are wild and dangerous during the autumn rut and the spring birthing season, when the park asks visitors to stay at least fifty metres away and keep dogs on leads; people are injured most years. Roads through the park have a speed limit and deer collisions occur. Parking fills at weekends.

Nearby

Richmond town and the Thames path lie north; Kew Gardens is a short distance downriver.