Today Battersea is one of London’s largest inner-city residential pockets. With a number of dedicated areas and activities for children including multiple playgrounds throughout the park as well as a children’s petting zoo in its North-West corner, the park is largely occupied by young families. Along with these child-friendly zones, the large park also includes meandering meadows and fields for exploring. There are numerous picnic tables and benches scattered throughout the park, and its multiple footpaths and trails are popular amongst cyclists and runners for recreation and exercise. The trail systems extends beyond the boundaries of Battersea Park in all directions. On the northern edge of the park, the trails extend along the Thames River and connect to the Chelsea and Albert Bridges on either side. The central location of Battersea - between the two bridges and the trails that connect the bridges directly to the park - make it easily accessible from surrounding public transportation hubs and major access routes through the city.

Up until 1846, Battersea Park was a large piece of land on the South shore of the River Thames, known as Battersea Fields.  Because of its proximity to the River, Battersea’s low-lying, marsh-like topography and intersecting streams made it an ideal site for crops including carrots, melons, lavender and asparagus. Though much of the fields have since been developed for different purposes, many of the names in Battersea come from the crops that used to grow in those exact spots. During the Industrial Revolution, the land around Battersea Fields quickly became home to a number of new factories. Because of its location on the developing railroads and adjacent to the Battersea Power Station, it was assumed that Battersea Fields would be similarly developed, until a local vicar proposed that the site be turned into a Royal Park. Through a Parliamentary Act in 1846, 320 acres of Battersea Field were acquired by the English Commission for Improving the Metropolis. Before the park was opened to the public, the Commission built the Chelsea Bridge so that the park would be easily accessible from both north and south of the Thames. With a declaration made by Queen Victoria, Chelsea Bridge and Battersea Park officially opened in 1858.