What to do in Kew Gardens?
You are planning a day out in London and Kew Gardens is on the list of possibilities. What is there to see inside Kew Gardens? This is a question you ask yourself while considering visiting or not.
On this post I will highlight what we did when we visited the gardens on a weekend, and I will share the best places to visit in Kew Gardens Botanical Gardens in one day.
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We always visit our friends that live in St Margarets, Twickenham in London. So, we went for another visit for the weekend.
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We arrived there on a Saturday at lunch time and after having some lunch at one of the cafés in St Margarets, we went for a walk.
We started at Marble Hill Park passing in front of Marble Hill House that we visited on another occasion (see my post “Twickenham and Richmond” for a complete insight into the area including Marble Hill house).
We stepped at “The Grotto” located within Marble Hill Park. “The Grotto” was started by Henrietta Howard (the owner of Marble Hill House) in 1730. She decorated it with seashells with her niece Henrietta Hotham.
Shell collecting and decorating was a fashionable pastime for women in the 18th century.
We also passed in front of the magnificent “Black Walnut” tree that is more than 250 years old and one of the largest in Britain. Black Walnuts are native to North America and were introduced in Europe in 1629.
We went in the direction of the river to walk all the way to Richmond, but at that time the river was quickly raising to high tide.
By the time we arrived at Hammerston’s Ferry to cross to the other side the tide was already very high, and we would get wet disembarking on the other side.
So, we decided to continue walking on the pathway next to the river, but the tide was quicker than we were. There was a point that we could not continue, we had to go back. We turned and walked to Richmond via the streets and crossed Richmond Bridge.
Once on the other side we stopped at The White Cross pub for a drink before continuing. The White Cross is a famous local pub that was built in 1780 on the banks of the River Thames. It is a favourite spot in Richmond to watch the sunset with a drink or to have a nice meal facing the river.
We continued our walk by the river. At that time the tide started to lower down, and it was possible to walk on the path next to the river. We crossed the river again at Twickenham Bridge and went to another friend’s house who also lives there and invited us for dinner.
For other places to go in Richmond read my other post “Twichenham and Richmond” where I describe other interesting places to see.
We had a lovely evening seeing our friends and meeting different people. At the end of the evening, we walked back to our other friend’s house for the night.
Next day we went to Kew Gardens in the morning. We had already visited Kew Gardens many years ago and another visit was long overdue.
Below is a map showing the places we went to while in the area and showing Kew Gardens on map.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT KEW GARDENS
The Kew site started as a garden in 1759, but it became the formal Kew Gardens Botanical Gardens in 1840. It is managed by the Royal Botanical Kew Gardens and became one of the largest botanic gardens in the world. It is about 330 acres of gardens, glasshouses, Grade I Listed buildings and Grade II Listed buildings within the area.
Kew Gardens is also a botanical research institution and employs more than 1100 staff as well as having their own police force (Kew Constabulary) since 1845. I find it bizarre as I don’t think there is a demand for it!
The garden buildings were built throughout the years and the Palm House was the first one to be built between 1844 and 1848 and the first Victorian glass and iron structure of that scale. The Temperate House is twice the size of the Palm House and was built later in the 19th century. It is the largest Victorian glass house in the world.
Kew Gardens Botanical Gardens was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003.
There are still five trees that survived since it started in 1759. They are called the “Five Lions” and they are: a gingko, a pagoda tree, an oriental plane, a black locust and a Caucasian elm.
VISITING KEW GARDENS
Parking is difficult around Kew Gardens, so we took the bus from St Margarets Road. The bus that goes to Kew Gardens and passes on St Margarets Road is no 110. From Richmond the bus to take is no. 65. However, there is a paying car park at Kew Gardens at the end of Ferry Lane.
We entered the garden via Kew Road and where the Victoria Plaza Shop and Café are. We turned right and started by visiting the Palm House and its beautiful palm trees inside.
We followed on by the “Great Broad Walk Borders” admiring the plants and flowers on the borders and passing in front of the “Pagoda Tree” that was planted in 1760 and survived to this day (one of the Five Lions).
Next stop was at “The Hive” an immersive structure that recreates the lives of the honeybees. It is a structure built in aluminium and incorporates about 1000 LED lights. It is a work of art designed by the artist Wolfgang Buttress that won the Landscape Institute Award in 2016. Very interesting piece of art.
Have a look at the video below from Kew Gardens showing “The Hive”.
The Hive at Kew Gardens – YouTube
We followed on and went to the “Princess of Wales Conservatory” that was designed by the architect Gordon Wilson and inaugurated in 1987 by Princess Diana.
It houses Dry Tropics and Wet Tropics plants such as orchids, water lilies, cacti, lithos, carnivorous plants and bromeliads. This is one of the nicest places to visit in the gardens in my view. We all loved the water lilies.
From there we walked back to go to the other side of the garden. We went by the side of the lake passing the Rose Garden at the back of the Palm House in the direction of the Temperate House.
The Temperate House is twice the size of the Palm House and the largest surviving Victorian glass structure in the world. It houses plants from temperate parts of the world , some being very rare. There is a viewing platform that people can look at the plants from the top.
After visiting the Temperate House, we went for lunch at the Pavilion Bar and Grill close by. We had a lovely lunch there and after lunch we walked to the “Treetop Walkway”. On the way we could see the “Great Pagoda” in the distance, but we didn’t go there as it was in a different direction.
“The Treetop Walkway” is positioned 18 metres from the ground and it is 200 metres long. From the top you have stunning views of the garden, and get close to the tree canopies and all the ecosystem that surrounds the area. Children love it. To get up there, there are 118 steps to climb but there is a lift for the ones with small children or with mobility issues.
After the visit we walked to the Lake Xing and crossed it to the other side, going via the paths until we arrived at the Family Kitchen and Shop. We stopped there for a coffee and for the kids to play a little bit more at the playground area they have there.
After that, it was time to leave the gardens. We needed to go back to St Margarets with our friends and collect the car to travel back home.
On the way out we could see Kew Palace that we didn’t have time to visit on that day.
However, there is much more to see at Kew Gardens than what we could fit in one day. There are other places to see that we saved for next time. Places such as the Great Pagoda, Bonsai House, Davies Alpine House, Waterlily House, Chokushi-Mon Japanese Gateway, Minka House, Queen Charlotte’s Cottage, Kew Palace and other places within the garden.
On our way out we also passed the Nash Conservatory that is used for weddings and other events.
To book tickets to Kew Gardens in advance and avoid queues at the ticket office use this LINK HERE.
As always we had a great weekend in London with our friends and soon, we will go back for more adventures in London.
I hope this post will give you some idea of what can be done in Richmond and Kew Gardens in a weekend and will help you plan your own visit there.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TRIP
Below you will find a list of what to visit, where to stay and where to eat in Richmond and Kew Gardens. I classified each place as follows:
BOLD – Visited, tried and recommended
NOT BOLD – Not visited or tried, but planning to visit or try and heard very good reviews
RED – Visited and tried but do not recommend, avoid or be cautious
*** – Excellent
** – Good
* – OK
£££ – Expensive
££ – Fair and affordable
£ – Cheap
PLEASE NOTE: Every hotel, restaurants and attractions I mention on my blogs are not sponsored reviews and we always paid the full price when visiting. We give our own opinion of the place and detail our experience, good or bad.
WHAT TO SEE
ATTRACTIONS
1 – Palm House – ***
2 – Pagoda Tree – ***
3 – The Hive – ***
4 – Princess of Wales Conservatory – ***
5 – Temperate House – ***
6 – The Treetop Walkway – ***
7 – Great Pagoda
8 – Bonsai House
9 – Davies Alpine House
10 – Waterlily House
11 – Chokushi-Mon Japanese Gateway
12 – Minka House
13 – Queen Charlotte’s House
14 – Kew palace
WHERE TO STAY
ACCOMMODATION
1 – West London House – ££
2 – Under the Doormat – ££
3 – The Selwyn – 4* – £££
4 – Maids Guest Rooms – ££
5 – Richmond Hill Hotel – 4* – £££
If you prefer to look for your own accommodation, search and book via the below widget:
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WHERE TO EAT
RESTAURANTS
1 – Restaurants inside Kew Gardens – ***
2 – The Botanist – ££
3 – Antipodea Kew – ££
4 – The Tap on the Line – ££
If you tried any of my recommendations above, please send me a message and tell me about your experience good or bad, so I can update the list accordingly. Thanks!
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