Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

The Olympic Park has transformed from temporary venues into something genuinely worth revisiting. What strikes you immediately is how thoroughly they've landscaped the whole site - you're not walking through leftover stadium remnants, but proper wetland and meadow. The Timber Lodge visitor centre gives you a starting point, though honestly the best bit is just wandering the paths around the water. Families with kids will find the open spaces useful for letting them burn energy, and there's enough water to keep younger ones entertained watching dragonflies.

It's genuinely free, which helps. Allow a couple of hours if you're doing the full circuit - it's bigger than it looks on the map. Spring and early summer are cracking times when the wildflowers are out and the birds are active. Winter feels a bit exposed and bleak.

If you're camping at Lee Valley to the north in Edmonton, this works as a decent half-day outing without being a massive drive - you're only looking at twenty minutes or so. The park itself doesn't require tickets or bookings, just turn up. Whether you stay the whole afternoon depends on your tolerance for urban parkland. It's good, genuinely good, but it's not going to blow your mind if you're used to proper countryside. What it does offer is accessibility and space in a city that doesn't have nearly enough of either.