Escape to Kew Gardens, London
By Ieva Staveckaite
With travel restrictions in place, many of us are looking for getaways closer to home. Kew Gardens located in Richmond; London is comprised of 300 acres just waiting to be explored!
The Royal Botanic Gardens are a serene sanctuary, transporting you from the suffocating city to a blissful oasis where the air is fresh and the grass seems just that bit greener. With over 50,000 living plants, numerous glasshouses and a range of shops and restaurants, this UNESCO World Heritage Site has everything you need to satisfy your wanderlust.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
In order to reduce queues and monitor numbers, entry to Kew Gardens is advance booking only. You can head to their website here: https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/visit-kew-gardens where you will need to pre-book a time slot. You have 45 minutes from your chosen time slot to enter the gardens but don’t worry, once you are inside you can stay for as long as you like.
OPENING TIMES:
Monday-Friday from 10 am- 7pm
Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays from 8am- 8pm.
Note that all glasshouses are open from 10 am and close one hour before the gardens.
If visiting on a Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holiday all entry before 10 am must be via Victoria Gate.
TICKET PRICES:
Adult = £17.50
Child (4-15) = £5.50
Young People (16-24) = £9
Under 4 = Free
Get your holiday fix at Kew with sights and smells that transport you thousands of miles away.
Entering via Lion Gate you are immediately whisked away to the Far East. Although currently closed, the Great Pagoda stands towering over the gardens, from which you can usually marvel at a birds-eye-view of London.
Just North of the Great Pagoda is the Japanese Gateway, a tranquil spot combining a Garden of Peace, a Garden of Activity and a Garden of Harmony. The three gardens mimic some of the different landscapes throughout Japan including a traditional tea garden, mountains, slopes and waterfalls.
Continue on to the world’s largest Victorian glasshouse: Temperate House. Inside explore the world’s temperate zones. With 10,000 individual plants from a variety of regions across Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Islands there is much to be discovered. And not just by visitors- Kew’s scientists use this vast collection for vital research into our planet’s most pressing issues such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and rapidly-spreading pests. Many of the showcased plants are either rare or threatened making the collection even more unique.
Jet off to Spain and lounge by sweet smelling lavender in the Mediterranean Garden. Planted in 2007, this display of Southern Europe was designed to highlight the diversity of life the Mediterranean habitat supports. Don’t miss King William’s temple (built for Queen Victoria in 1837) which stands at the centre of the garden.
Step into a world of wonder, where the air is heavy and the heat is turned up high, and discover an astonishing range of tropical plants at Palm House. As Kew’s indoor rainforest, Palm House contains plants from some of the most threatened environments in the world. Most interestingly, the collection consists of a number of plants that are extinct in the wild! It even showcases the oldest plant pot in the world.
With such rare and endangered plant species, Palm House operates as a living laboratory on which Kew scientists rely for crucial research into medicine and sustainable cropping. Be sure to look out for the spectacular, pre-historic ancient cycads. These palm-resembling plants existed all over the planet more than 250 million years ago- meaning before dinosaurs!
Just steps from Palm House is Waterlily House where you will find the giant Amazon Waterlily (Victoria amazonica). In fact, the entire glasshouse was designed specifically to display this vibrant beauty. A circular pond, spanning over 10 metres, is at the centre of the house, where Santa Cruz waterlily pads grow up to two metres wide. You can identify them by their prickly undersides and wide, upturned rims. The flowers of the Santa Cruz waterlily bloom large but only last 48 hours. They start out pearly white in colour, soon darkening to a pink and purple before sinking into the water.
For a quick pit stop head to Victoria Gate café and indulge in a deliciously sweet ice-cream or make your way inside to choose something more filling.
Once reenergised continue your journey around the world in the rugged and wild landscape of not one but six different mountainous regions. Kew’s Rock Garden mimics life in the European Alps and Pyrenees, South African bergs and kloofs and a number of other alpine terrains. The outdoor display uses a variety of levels and perspectives to provide visitors with an authentic experience. Having been constructed in 1882 and spanning over an acre in size this rock garden is also one of the oldest and largest in the world!
With 10 computer-controlled climate zones, the Princess of Wales Conservatory leads you through an astonishing range of ecosystems. Spiky cacti and succulents, carnivorous plants and the famed waterlily Victoria amazonica are just a few of the highlights. In 1985, the Conservatory had a special visitor- Sir David Attenborough who buried a time capsule in the foundations of the building. The capsule contained seeds of basic food crops, many of which are thought to be rare or extinct by the time the capsule is opened in 2085.
Surround yourself with a rainbow of colour as you venture into the heart of Kew along the Great Broad Walk Borders. Believed to be the longest herbaceous borders in the country, and possibly the world, this 320 metre long adventure is remarkable for a number of reasons. The fresh fragrances arising from the intricately arranged flower beds overtake your senses as you follow a display that changes with the seasons. The magnificent range of plant families the borders showcase is used in key research undertaken at Kew.
Journey further into the gardens and discover the impressively crafted Sackler Crossing. Designed by architect John Pawson, the crossing’s walls appear to form a solid boundary on approach, but when viewed from the side the solid boundary disappears. The bridge over Kew’s five acres of water was installed to provide access to some of the garden’s less visited areas.
On that list is the area dedicated to the Himalaya. Wander between 130 bamboo species- the fastest growing woody plants in the world to discover the dense landscape they create. With bamboo from China, Japan, the Himalaya and Americas, Kew’s collection is one of the largest in the UK. A particular beauty to look out for is the traditional Japanese Minka House. Meaning ‘houses of the people’, ‘minka’ refers to the simple homes of those living in the countryside. They were common in Japan until the mid-20th century, and are now a beloved feature of Japanese heritage.
With the world quite literally at your feet, Kew Gardens, London presents you with the holiday of a lifetime complete in a day. So what are you waiting for? Journey across the earth today!