Crystal Palace Park in south London is a Victorian pleasure ground with a wonderfully eccentric claim to fame: the world's first dinosaur sculptures, a herd of gloriously inaccurate prehistoric beasts created in 1854, long before much was known about how they really looked. Set around lakes and lawns, the park is a delightfully offbeat day out.
Why visit
Where else can you picnic beside the very first attempt to imagine dinosaurs in three dimensions? The Grade I listed sculptures are a charming time capsule, and the wider park offers space, history and views across south London.
What to see and do
The dinosaurs on their lake islands are the headline, alongside the maze, the boating lake, a small farm and the terraces where the great glass Crystal Palace once stood before it burned down in 1936.
Visiting tips
The park is free and open daily. Crystal Palace and Penge West stations are nearby. It makes an easy, unusual escape from central London for families.
