Find out about our regular events coming up in the month of May, as well as the latest news about the Park.
How often have you walked past a statue or a fountain in Regent’s Park and asked yourself, “Who made this? What does it commemorate? What does it mean?” This is your chance to find out, in the company of Anne-Marie Craven, a distinguished Friend and a Blue Badge Guide.
Weeds are plants growing in unwanted places. Our relationship to these wild species has changed throughout history. What place do weeds have in our urban parks, and what lessons can we learn from them?
Join Gemma Hindi, who is a Royal Parks Help Nature Thrive Engagement Officer, on a leisurely walk through the park discovering the beautiful botany and fascinating heritage of some of our most overlooked wild species, the ‘weeds’.
Queen Mary’s Garden is London’s largest collection of roses with approximately 12,000 roses. The Royal Parks advise us that the best time to view the gardens are the end of May and the first two weeks of June. Join us for this walk led by Assistant Park Manager, Pawel Szynkarczuk to look at and learn all about roses.
Join a lively group of regulars & newcomers, converse and strike up new friendships. Please note that from 2nd April, when the clocks have changed, we will be meeting at 2:30pm – 4:30 pm.
We will meet in the newly refurbished Broadwalk Café, a 20 minute walk from our usual gathering place. We will return to the Primrose Hill Café on completion of its refurbishment. We thank Wallacea Living for sponsoring this community-driven initiative (and cake) and to Benugo providing refreshments. Free to attend.
So many of our members say the reason they joined the Friends was to ‘give something back’.
You can do that by volunteering at our summer music festival as well as at our visitor van, ‘Rambling Rosie’, helping visitors find their way around the park. In the autumn the park appreciates our help with bulb planting and if you have green fingers or want to learn more, why not volunteer at the allotment? Litter picking is another firm favourite and is essential to helping the park look its best.
The choice is yours and you will be sure to ‘gain’ just as much as giving back to a park you care about.
Starting in May, the Bandstand team will be looking for Bandstand Managers to undergo training sessions to learn how to manage a Saturday (about 3 hours) or Sunday (about 6 hours). Assistants will be provided to help the Band Managers who handle the arrival of the bands, making sure the bandstand is set up (banners, donation boxes, chairs, PA kit etc) then making announcements, taking videos and generally making sure that everyone has a great afternoon.
There are no age limits – anyone from 18 to 80 can do it. You get to listen to some great music, meet the musicians, chat to the audience and get some donations for the festival Charity.
Please contact the following email to apply:
info@regentsparkmusicfestival.co.uk
The race management company Runthrough needs volunteers for its scheduled 5K and 10K runs in Regent’s Park on May 24, June 28 and July 19 (all Saturdays). Volunteers will man the water stations, the event village, the bag drop area, or act as a race steward out on the course. They are needed from 7.30am till around 11 am.
Note: this would benefit the Friends – although Runthrough are not permitted to pay the volunteers, they will donate £20 to the Friends for every volunteer we put up. If you are willing to help on any or all of these dates, please email Mike Baker at mikebakermunton@gmail.com
April’s end allows leaf-buds to emerge with bird song everywhere on the Park and Primrose Hill. As earlier, new Blackthorn hedging and saplings (Prunus spinosa), in part funded by the Friends, seem to have taken well. We hope this is the first of many more efforts to thicken up such vital nesting sites.
The ‘vision’ of the Friends’ Natural History group to have nightingales nesting here by the end of a decade will be greatly improved by these blackthorn clumps. Meanwhile, our migrant, arriving warblers and a single male grey (not yellow) wagtail have been caught dramatically on camera in the Park by Mags Anderson, Chris Buck and Lidunka Vocadlo as below:
Will these all breed in the Park or on the Hill – do we have the right habitat?
Kennedy Cruickshank – Friends’ Natural History group organizer
via wildlife@friendsofregentspark.org
Thursday 29th May 6pm
The Danish Church
4 St. Katherine’s Precinct
Regent’s Park
London NW1 4HH
The booking portal to volunteer on our Visitor Information Van will open this month. To find out if this is an opportunity you would like to embrace, check out the Visitor Van Task List. We need volunteers to ‘stand by our van’, to give directions to visitors, hand out maps and informative leaflets, and share your passion for our park. Every volunteer brings their own unique knowledge and experience to the job and you get back, as much as you give in this rewarding and vital role.
We operate the van on Weekends and holiday Monday.
Set to open in April 2026, work is progressing on a new two-acre garden in The Regent’s Park, which is being created to commemorate the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
Now four months into the sixteen-month build, key features are emerging. Work is beginning on a circular pond, designed to enhance habitats for local wildlife. More than 200,000 bulbs and 40 trees have been ordered to create colourful nectar-rich planting.
The garden represents a new chapter in The Regent’s Park’s long horticultural legacy. With a focus on resilient perennials, year-round seasonal interest and colour, and innovative use of materials, the scheme pushes the boundaries of sustainable gardening while honouring the traditions of one of London’s most historic landscapes.
For the full statement and insight from Matthew Pottage, Head of Horticulture and Landscape Strategy, click here.
In the context of better and safer accessibility to the Park, the Crown Estate Paving Commission (CEPC) have been working on improvements to three pedestrian crossings on the Outer Circle: Kent Passage, Monkey Gate and Chester Gate. Initial designs are being worked up in tandem with a heritage consultant and the Friends are part of that discussion.
A fourth crossing, at Clarence Gate, will have a digital countdown timer added, to help pedestrians cross more safely when they enter and exit that busy Park entrance.
The 30” water mains that runs through The Regent’s Park following the Broad Walk has been, for several years, prone to leaks. After writing to Thames Water for many years they are finally now investing in maintaining this mains pipe and are now embarking on a major overhaul of the water main.
The works are planned to commence end of April and will run until late August, when Frieze works will start. If Thames Water are not finished by then, they will have to return after Frieze. Thames Water will issue due notice about the closure of walkways etc.
Nick Biddle reported the York Bridge structural and conservation works are underway. Damage to the early 19th century bridge has been caused over time by the 6 tonne weight limit & water ingress damaging the underlying brickwork. Works are due to complete between September and November 2025, after which a single-direction roadway will re-open, running south to north into the Park.
The Japanese Island bridge in Queen Mary’s Gardens may not be long for this world. Too many visitors including children have been trampling nature on the island, meaning that plantings are becoming unviable.
The bridge, currently blocked by barriers, may be removed altogether and allow only visual access to the island.
Tennis Courts
From 2026, The Royal Parks will resume control and management of the Regent’s Park tennis facilities currently run by Parksports.
Thank you to our sponsors
©2025 Friends of Regent’s Park & Primrose Hill
Friends of Regent’s Park & Primrose Hill is a registered charity in England and Wales (no 1201666)
