3 Reasons to Visit Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park

Sometimes, there is nothing better than being a tourist in your own city and we’ve been making a point to discover more of the everyday great places London has to offer, often right on our doorstep. We recently paid a long overdue visit to Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park in Kennington, a park which has something for both humans and hounds. The park surrounds the impressive Imperial War Museum, is home to the Tibetan Peace Memorial and for dogs, the Geraldine Mary Harmsworth dog agility park – no doubt the most central of any public dog agility space in London. 

Now, we should say that agility is most definitely not Belinha’s ‘thing’ but we know it will be for plenty of pups and the dog agility park offers the chance to dip paws into the world of agility to see if it could be your hound workout of choice.

So let’s see what Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park has to offer…

3 Reasons to Visit Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park

1. Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, The Imperial War Museum

We entered the park via the entrance opposite Barkham Terrace (how we would love to live in a terrace with that name) on Lambeth Road and immediately in front of us was the Imperial War Museum with the iconic 15 inch guns from the HMS Ramillies and HMS Resolution which have been guarding the entrance to the museum since 1968.

Understandably dogs aren’t allowed in the museum but they can enjoy the area directly in front of it, which is perfect for a photo for the ‘gram. If you happen to visit with two or more humans, they can take it in turns to go into the museum which is free to enter.

2. Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park Dog Agility Area

So this is probably the #1 reason for doggos to visit! If you’re standing facing the museum, walk to the right looping behind the museum and you will come to an open park space which is perfect for some lazy lounging with a historic backdrop.

Continue through the park area towards Kennington Road and you will soon spot the Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Dog Agility area. With two ramps, two weaves, two types of jumps (the giant paw has to be the winner) and a tunnel, it’s enough to try out agility, practice if you’ve got your sights on being a pro or just enjoy a fun workout with your human. 

Belinha was more than happy to demonstrate the art of agility posing but needless to say, not agility itself.

However, whilst we were there, a tiny little chihuahua demonstrated that any dog can have a go (and fly around the course).

3. Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, The Tibetan Peace Garden

After some relaxing park time and fun at the agility area, we headed back to the main entrance and just to the left of the Imperial War Museum to the small enclosed area which is home to the Tibetan Peace Garden, created by the Tibet Foundation. The Peace Garden was opened and consecrated by the Dalai Lama himself in 1999 as a place of peace in support of one of the Dalai Lama’s teachings – ‘the need to create understanding between different cultures and to establish places of peace and harmony in the world.’ Paws up to that.

We enjoyed some tranquil time out watching the world go by and it was the perfect conclusion to our visit to Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park.

How to Get To Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park

Getting there is super easy, with Lambeth North being the closest underground station (5 minutes walk) followed by Elephant and Castle (10 minutes walk) or Borough (20 minutes walk).

If you haven’t been yet, it’s a lovely place to visit with your pup. And if you’re looking for some dog-friendly dining inspiration nearby, then we suggest heading to the very dog-friendly Mercato Metropolitano which is a 10-15 min walk away – featured alongside Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park in Amber the Basset Fauve’s My Dog-friendly London Guide to the area.

Enjoy Puppers!