Christmas time in London is great fun with loads of thing to do and see. One of our favourites is Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park so we took some friends who had not been before to enjoy an evening of Christmas cheer. They couldn't work out what Winter Wonderland was from our description - is it a theme park, is it a Christmas market, it is a food market, is for kids or adults? Well, it's all of these and it takes up a huge space right in the middle of Hyde Park!
You can linger for ages checking out all the gifts in the chalets of the market section as it is extensive and tempting. Once through with shopping you are surrounded by food stalls and into the fun fair. There's everything from the old fashioned but beautiful helter skelter and big wheel, to incredibly fast whirling things, all looking very festive, to dreadfully scary rides that were too fast to take a photo of and I have know idea how people were not sick on them but it seemed fun was being had! The roller coaster was popular, looking a little slower than the super fast rides but still resulted in a good few screams.
There are some traditions about Christmas ghost stories so there was the obligatory haunted house with a huge violin playing skeleton outside. On the cuter side, I loved the snowman, the sweets and the massive balloon
We managed to eat and drink our way round the whole experience, tasting the warming mulled wine and by the time we got to the burgers one friend was so hungry he ordered two, making the stall holder so excited that he shouted for all to hear 'he's going for 2'! There were stalls full of churros and chocolate, candy floss, any type of grilled sausage and colourful sweets.
We almost went for the ice skating but after a wonderful dry evening, the rain started to come down so we escaped to a nearby pub to keep dry and warm.
You enter through a massive arch through which you can just see the beginings of the fun fair in the distance. The first section is made up of several alleyways of Christmas market chalets but the best thing here is the talking and singing moose! I've attached a video but in case that doesn't work for you, there's a photo as well. I hope the video runs for you as he is wonderful and one of my highlights. (If it doesn't download right away, come back to it)
You can linger for ages checking out all the gifts in the chalets of the market section as it is extensive and tempting. Once through with shopping you are surrounded by food stalls and into the fun fair. There's everything from the old fashioned but beautiful helter skelter and big wheel, to incredibly fast whirling things, all looking very festive, to dreadfully scary rides that were too fast to take a photo of and I have know idea how people were not sick on them but it seemed fun was being had! The roller coaster was popular, looking a little slower than the super fast rides but still resulted in a good few screams.
There are some traditions about Christmas ghost stories so there was the obligatory haunted house with a huge violin playing skeleton outside. On the cuter side, I loved the snowman, the sweets and the massive balloon
We managed to eat and drink our way round the whole experience, tasting the warming mulled wine and by the time we got to the burgers one friend was so hungry he ordered two, making the stall holder so excited that he shouted for all to hear 'he's going for 2'! There were stalls full of churros and chocolate, candy floss, any type of grilled sausage and colourful sweets.
We almost went for the ice skating but after a wonderful dry evening, the rain started to come down so we escaped to a nearby pub to keep dry and warm.
We're all going again next year and perhaps someone will be brave enough to try the scary rides but I don't think it will be me!
Bye for now,
Sue
@itsyourlondon
I am going this weekend and cannot wait!
ReplyDeleteDid you get a chance to see the magical ice kingdom?? I don't know if I would be any good at ice skating but would love to have a go! It all sounds so magical and I need something to put me in the Christmas mood!!
I am driving down to London on Friday night after work, staying in this great apartment (http://www.silverdoor.co.uk/serviced-apartment-property-849) - right next to Hyde Park which I am super excited about to!! I cant wait!! It's going to be a great weekend! Can you suggest any good places to eat near winter wonderland??? (as long as I am not too stuffed from all those burgers and candy floss stalls!)