The Serpentine provided a focal point for The Great Exhibition of 1851, and more recently was a venue for the men's and women's triathlon and marathon swimming events in the London 2012 Olympics.

Originally the lake was fed by the River Westbourne entering at the Italian Garden at the north-western end of the Long Water.

The Long Water runs south-east from this point to Serpentine Bridge, where the lake curves to the east, following the natural contours of the land.

Historically the river flowed mainly exposed due south from this point as the mutual limits of Westminster and Kensington, but since 1850 is culverted (runs underground) to reach the Thames near Chelsea Bridge.

The Serpentine was one of the earliest artificial lakes designed to appear natural,[8] and was widely imitated in parks and gardens nationwide.

[8] The lake achieved notoriety in December 1816 when Harriet Westbrook, the pregnant wife of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, was found drowned in the Serpentine[9] having left a suicide note addressed to her father, sister and husband.

The lake formed a focal point of the 1814 celebrations which marked a century of Hanoverian rule and re-enacted the British victory at Trafalgar nine years previously,[11] and of the 1851 Great Exhibition, with the Crystal Palace standing on its southern shore.

[8] Following the introduction of more stringent regulations to protect the environment in the park, the relocation of the Crystal Palace, and the construction of the nearby Albertopolis complex of museums and exhibitions, large-scale events ceased to take place on the banks of the Serpentine.

[8] In 2011, the Royal Parks embarked on the restoration of the Serpentine to combat growing concerns about the status of the water and the quality of the aquatic environment.

[13] The Peter Pan Christmas Day Race is only open to regular participants in the Saturday swimming competitions during the winter.

In 2002 the Serpentine hosted the Mercedes Benz World Rowing Sprints, in which several international crews raced over 500 metres (547 yards).

[18] The Hyde Park Holocaust Memorial, unveiled in 1983 stands at the eastern end of the Serpentine, immediately beyond the dam.

A memorial on the northern shore of the lake was erected by Norwegian seamen in 1978 in thanks for the safe haven they were given in Britain after their country surrendered to the Germans in 1940, during the Second World War.

[19] The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, opened in 2004, sits on the southern shore near West Carriage Drive.