A Sunny Day at Kew Gardens

Sunday, September 07, 2014

For Christmas last year, my Mum bought day tickets to Kew Gardens as a present for my Gran, my Aunty Lesley and myself. After eventually organising a free Saturday a few weeks ago, we found ourselves making the journey to London once again. 

I'd never visited Kew Gardens before but being massive lover of nature and discovering new places, I was really looking forward to the day. We set off reasonably early to ensure we made a full day of it and despite the weather forecast being grim, our spirits were high.

We got there just after 9am, picked up the mobility scooter for my Gran - she can't walk too far, bless her - and then set off in to the park for a day full of plants, trees and fun.

We came in through the Brentford Gate and had a lovely stroll through the arboretum, heading towards the Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway (click here to see the map). I'm not frightened of heights. Spiders? Yes. Heights? Nah. Mum and Lesley, however, are less keen but decided to do it anyway - if that isn't girl power, I don't know what is! Gran decided to stay at the bottom so she could wave at us whilst we were at the dizzying height of 18m above ground! The walkway is pretty much a circular path on top of a metal structure; very safe and sturdy. It didn't take long to walk around but it was enjoyable to see the gardens at a different height and you could even see Wembley in the distance! I'm so proud of the two thrill-seekers with me, who both walked the whole way round and even did the last stretch not holding on to the side - well done them!



Unfortunately, the Temperate House was closed for restoration, so we made our way towards the Japanese Gateway and Pagoda instead, stopping for the most divine cake at the Pavilion Restaurant on the way. Seriously, I had some chocolate/nut/marshmallow/caramel cake thing (which I completely forgot to photograph - doh!) and it was scrummy. The Japanese Gateway was beautiful, with the surrounding gardens matching the theme. It was a very serene part of the grounds, with everything being simple but elegant. The Gateway was intricately designed and bursting with detail, I could have stared at it for hours!




After our quick Japanese stop we caught the little land train which costs £4.50/adult for the whole day but very worth it because until you get there, you don't quite realise how large the park is. Walking it all could be quite a mission, especially on a hot day like ours turned out to be. We enjoyed the sights going round and the conductor was ace! He was witty and kept reeling out fact after fact about everything, it was impressive! We hopped off at the Palm House to have a look inside. It was, again, beautiful. Full to the the brim with tropical plants and flowers, with a floor up to see the conservatory from a height or a floor down to a mini-aquarium.






We then wandered towards the nearest café to find a drink and an ice cream as the sun was blaring by this point. En route we found some wooden carved sheep and lots of laughter ensued whilst posing with them. We also found some trees wearing knitted jumpers! OK, so they weren't jumpers. But they did have knitted patchwork surrounding them, they were brightly coloured and gorgeous.


After a quick sit down and a refreshing cold drink of water, we made our way towards the Gin and Tonic Gardens, stopping to look at the stunning flower displays along the way. These flowers beds were just bursting with colours and were incredibly pretty.




Whilst walking, we also found a cute shed with wellies growing wild flowers and a beautiful Waterlily pond near some very strong smelling Eucalyptus trees. Fun fact: did you know that Koala Bears will only eat certain types of Eucalyptus (there are over 700 different Eucalyptus species!)? Learning something new every day!

After smelling the trees and kind of looking like weirdos, we stumbled upon the Davies Alpine House which led on to the Rock Garden. Inside the glasshouse were lots of beautiful little flowers and other alpine plants; it was only small but lovely all the same. After coming out of the house, we were met by a beautiful waterfall and rock garden. We took a few moments there to enjoy the sound of the gushing water and looking at the lush vegetation and even managed to get a nice group photo!



Much to our delight, as we'd been doing an awful lot of walking in very hot weather, the Gin and Tonic Garden (part of the Plantasia Festival) was just around the corner, ready to quench our thirst! It was in a very small corner of the gardens but really gorgeous and only fresh ingredients were used. The menu itself was mouth-watering and I went for a cherry-based one (which had Gin, Tonic, cherry, balsamic vinegar and black pepper); it was once of the nicest drinks I've ever had and I am 100% going to try recreate it - I'll be sure to let you know how it goes! The set-up was completely cute too with little metal chairs and tables and roses in old gin bottles. The staff were also awfully friendly and helpful; one very kind man even brought a heavy wooden chair from inside to where we were sitting, how lovely is that?!


Time was pressing on at this point and we realised we'd miss the last round of the land train so decided to take an leisurely stroll back towards our car, with the intention to then find somewhere to eat as we'd only had the cake earlier in the day. As we were making our way back, I couldn't stop thinking about how lush and healthy everything looked. The gardens were so well maintained and everything was well thought-out and beautiful. For a first time trip, it was so impressive and I would certainly go again.

I'd best add on the restaurant we ate at also because we all felt we had one of the best eating-out experiences there. After finding our car, we drove two mins down the road and found Ask Italian, which we'd all heard of before and as we were hungry, just decided to stop and eat. My last Ask experience was not a good one, but I'm always willing to try something again and I am very glad I did. The food was excellent, the staff were brilliant, the price was reasonable; it was completely and utterly enjoyable. We shared an Antipasto Classico Board and Bruschetta to start and I had Spaghetti al Pomodoro (with added chicken) and it was all delicious. Certainly one of the nicest meals out I've had in a long time and I would highly recommend the restaurant.


Have you ever been to Kew Gardens? Do you have any good day out suggestions? 

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14 comments

  1. Looks beautiful there! your photos are amazing hun, I love the photo of you and your gran :)

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    1. It was beautiful, definitely a good place to go. Thank you so much for your kind comments, I love that photo too :)

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  2. These photos are amazing. Love to see this kind of places. the flowers are so beautiful. wow



    http://ninasstyleblog.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you Nina, it was a completely stunning place. Nature at it's finest! :)

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  3. It's soooooo beautiful! And I am madly in love with these photos... Amazing!!

    Jessica
    the.pyreflies.org

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    1. It really was, I loved it! And thank you so much for your lovely comment Jessica :)

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  4. Wow! Kew Gardens looks beautiful! Looks like you had a lovely time, I'll be checking out the gardens for sure :)

    Lagerfeld Love

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    1. It is beautiful, you should definitely go if you can :)

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  5. What a beautiful place! I love flowers and that squirrel... how cute! Since I'm Italian I find hard to understand the presence of the chicken in the spaghetti al pomodoro, one of my favorite food! :)

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    1. It is lovely and the squirrel was very cute :) Oops, yeah, the chicken was my fault..I fancied a bit of meat! The meal would have been just as yummy without though to be honest! :)

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  6. love these kew pictures! especially the picture looking skyward in the conservatory and the palm leaf! great angle that really shows it in a different light x

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    1. Thank you very much, I had a lot of fun taking photos throughout the day :)
      A x

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