The best spots for a Christmas Day walk have been revealed – and four of them are in London

Walkers in the snow in Richmond Park on February 09, 2021 in London, England. A Met Office Weather Warning remains in place for many parts of the UK.

(Image credit: Chris Jackson / Getty Images)

Christmas Day has lots of traditions: presents, stockings, Bucks Fizz, fighting over board games, eating a massive lunch between the hours of 12pm and 6pm, plus a plethora of other random quirks each family acquires. If you’re not a matching-pyjama-wearing, stay-on-or-near-the-sofa for the entire day, and opt for something a little more, erm, balanced, you might be heading out for a Christmas Day walk. If you are, then you might be in luck, as four London spots have just been named the best in the UK for a Christmas Day walk.

By the time someone (let’s face it, definitely your mum) suggests going on a walk, you’re probably five glasses of prosecco and two selection boxes down. And whilst the idea doesn’t always sound as appealing as watching reruns of Gavin & Stacey Christmas specials whilst making your way through a Celebrations box, a nice wintery walk can actually be pretty decent. Especially if you’re living by one of the best Christmas Day walking spots…

Price Comparison site idealo has been busy looking around the highs and lows of the UK, finding the best and most beautiful backdrops for your scenic festive wanders. And luckily for Londoners, surprisingly, it was the Ol’ Big Smoke that dominated the top 10.

Deer including stags are photographed in Richmond park at sunrise on a winters morning in south west London on February 3, 2019 - England saw the coldest night of the winter so far as temperatures tumbled across the UK.

The survey took into account a number of factors including park ratings, Google searches, and social media engagement. Unsurprisingly, London’s large and luscious Richmond Park was crowned the best of the best, with a 4.7 rating, 301,000 monthly searches, and 503,000 Instagram posts. With free roaming deer, stunning rolling landscapes, ancient woodland, as well as sites like the Isabella Planation, it’s no wonder London’s Royal Park cinched the top spot.

Other wintery wonderlands that made the list were Hyde Park which landed in second place, Greenwich Park in third, and our own local Hollywood hotspot Hampstead Heath also managed to make the list, rounding off the top five. Clearly, London is the place to be for Christmas Day.

The UK’s best parks for a Christmas Day walk are:

Richmond Park, London
Hyde Park, London
Greenwich Park, London
Sefton Park, Liverpool
Hampstead Heath, London
Heaton Park, Manchester
Victoria Park, Bath
Roundhay Park, Leeds
Sutton Park, Birmingham

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.

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