Cannizaro Park

If Wimbledon Common is too vast and bleak for you, head for nearby Cannizaro Park. This Grade II* listed garden covers 34 acres and is located of the west
side of Wimbledon Common, a few minutes walk from the Village. Adjacent to Cannizaro House Hotel but no longer connected to it, Cannizaro Park is a fine example of the style of large garden common to London mansions in the 19th century and is bewitchingly timeless. Small and sheltered, the park bursts into colour in summertime. A labyrinth of paths interweave across the gardens while the lush stretch of lawn is very suited to civilised picnicking. The park is also known for its open-air theatre, comprising a stage and 700 seat auditorium. Watch out for the jazz festivals every summer, you can lie back and listen to the blues floating through the trees. In the last two weeks of July, the Italian Garden is the venue for the annual festival including music, comedy and live performances. This area is part of the Old Kitchen Garden which was divided into two sections - the upper lawns area and the Italian Garden itself - in the late 1980s. North of this area are the Keir Garden and Maple Avenue, while south are the Water Garden, Lady Jane's Wood, Azalea Dell, Mediterranean Garden, Belvedere, and Retreat, which stretches around towards the Crooked Billet. Today's 34-acre Cannizaro Park owes some of its best features to former residents of the big house: Henry Dundas Viscount Melville, Home Secretary and First Lord of the Admiralty under Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger; and to Mr and Mrs E Kenneth Wilson who lived there from 1920 to 1947.