There are so many free things to do in London and I do try my best to take the full advantage of it. However there are few places where I don’t mind paying and Kew Gardens is definitely one of them.
This was the second time I’ve been there – last time was an early spring and now we visited in late August. The main reasons we finally made our way there was to see the Hive installation (anyone else falls for beautiful advertising on the tube all the time??). And it didn’t disappoint.
I would strongly recommend spending the whole day at Kew Gardens. There is so much to see and to eat!
My favourite places
Palm house
It was first open in 1844 and “today the Palm House is one of Kew’s most recognisable buildings having gained iconic status as the world’s most important surviving Victorian glass and iron structure.” The day we visited, it was incredibly warm and humid but that actually created beautiful fog that photographed very well. My tip would be to try to arrive around 10am just when the gardens open, as the sun is still low and you get some fantastic views.
Treetop walk
First opened in 2008, the walk is 200 meters long and towers 18 meters above the ground. It is an amazing opportunity to walk through the branches of chestnuts, oaks and beeches. The cool fact about the structure is, that ‘The walkway’s structure is inspired by the Fibonacci numerical sequence, frequently found in nature’s growth patterns.” This is probably one of my favourite attractions in Kew Gardens, it is so fun to walk around tree tops (unless you are scared of heights, than maybe not..)
Student vegetable patch
That was the first time we ever been there and we found very interesting and educational. The patch was created, and now is maintained, by Students at Kew Gardens, who grow all sorts of vegetables and fruit there, so it’s great to see how things actually grow and, I believe, students can actually provide advice to anyone who is interested in doing it themselves. Every Friday they sell the produce too.
The Orangery cafe
It is just a very beautiful cafe where they sell all types of snacks and meals. Definitely worth visiting even if just to have a look around it!
Main gift shops
There is a huge selection on everything gardening and plant caring. Still can’t believe I managed to walk away without buying any plants to be honest. My boyfriend made up a rule once while we were in IKEA – I can buy everything that I’m happy to carry around myself – so that helps to curve the urge to buy every plan under the sun…
A little bonus tip:
The area outside the tube station
There is a lovely bookshop, lots of cafes and small shops. So definitely worth browsing around. The pub, that is basically attached to the Kew Gardens tube station, looks amazing! Unfortunately (for us of course), when we were there, they were closed due to a wedding.
*this is a part of series of blog posts about my favourite places in London – Connecting the Dots. Check out other post about Clifton Nurseries.
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