1936 On the Continent

give the impression of a well-tended private park.
Regent’s Park
    The largest of London’s parks is Regent’s Park, which stretches from Marylebone Road to Primrose Hill, and is the recreation ground of an immense residential district. Its fields and flower beds cover an area of 553 acres. It includes the famous Zoological and Botanical Gardens. The former is one of the largest and best stocked zoos in the world, and is visited each year by hundreds of thousands of people. But the general character of Regent’s Park is determined at least to the same extent as its lay-out, by the symmetrical circle of aristocratic dwellings (built by Nash) which almost entirely encloses it.
    The attractions of Regent’s Park include the open-air Shakespearean performance given in summer, boating facilities on a natural river, and a number of cricket grounds, where the English practise with a touching application the great national game, which must forever remain a mystery to the foreign mentality.
    Hampstead Heath, a vast natural park, is in the centre of a good middle-class residential district, and is regarded by Londoners as the nearest excursion-resort where the illusion that they are in the country, far from the madding crowd of urban civilisation, is really possible. On August Bank Holiday Hampstead Heath is invaded by vast crowds of people for the traditional Bank Holiday Fair.
    Battersea Park and Victoria Park, and many other parks of various sizes, have the same importance for their respective districts, and although they are situated in working-class districts, they are no less carefully tended than the parks in the most exclusive districts.
The Commons
    The so-called commons, vast stretches of grass-covered land which are the perpetual property of the community and must never be built upon, are a blessing to the children of London. The commons may be described with more justification as the lungs of London than the parks.
    Mention of Battersea Park, which is situated South of the Thames, may perhaps remind the reader that we havehardly mentioned this part of London. However, this omission is justified, for unless the visitor is interested in the industrial establishments of South London, or wishes to see the huge County Hall, the administrative headquarters of the London County Council, or Lambeth Palace, the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, he will have nothing to do South of the Thames. At the same time as we have already mentioned when dealing with London’s museums, this part of the city also has a few interesting collections. Further, the visitor who wishes to gain an insight into the lives of the masses may like to visit such places as the Old Kent Road and the Elephant and Castle. The latter, incidentally, boasts the largest cinema in the whole of England.
The Markets
    Talking about the life of the masses reminds us of London’s markets. The Caledonian Market, London’s “rag fair,” has become world famous. Markets are held twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, and in addition to old clothes and sundry rejects of middle-class homes, it is still possible to find worth-while bargains in Caledonian Market. It has been and still remains, the happy hunting ground of collectors of every possible—and impossible—kind of thing, though it must be said that nowadays really valuable antiques find their way to Caledonian Market less and less frequently.
Covent Garden
    In contrast with the decay that Caledonian Market represents, Covent Garden is the symbol of everything that is wholesome and fresh. Covent Garden is London’s central fruit and vegetable market, and is easily accessible from any part of the West End. The Market adjoins Covent Garden Opera House and, not unnaturally, many a paradoxical impression may be gathered here, particularly late at night, when the operatic performance comes to a close, and the Market is just beginning to bestir itself for next morning’s business.
    Covent Garden is the wholesale market, and presents nothing that could be called romantic, but it is nevertheless well worth visiting. Fruit and vegetables frompractically every country in the world arrive here daily, and are massed in a colourful, fragrant array before being distributed all over England.
    In Whitechapel, Soho, and other parts, there are street markets, each of which reflects the character of the district. The colourfulness, movement and animation of these street markets contrast strongly with