A Day at Kew Gardens: My First-Time Experience

I can’t believe I’m saying this (and I’m sure you are all going to be quite shocked too), but I only visited Kew Gardens for the very first time this year! I have been to so many other fantastic gardens that are much further away, how have I not previously been to this one that is so much closer? Anyway, I made it and what a fantastic day out it was. Here is how we got on…

About Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens, officially known as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is a world-famous botanical garden located in southwest London that attracts around 2 million visitors each year! It is home to one of the most diverse collections of plants and fungi on the planet, featuring over 50,000 living plants across its 330 acres. Kew is well known for its iconic landmarks like the Palm House, a Victorian glasshouse filled with tropical plants and the Temperate House, the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world. It is a botanical wonder right in the middle of a bustling city and one that all ages can enjoy.

Visiting Kew Gardens

Parking and Travel

We set off at around 9 am on a weekend day in order to miss the traffic and ensure we could park as we did read that their car park gets filled up quite quickly and that no parking is permitted on the roads surrounding the gardens. This paid off as the journey was really good and we managed to park easily (please note that you DO have to pay for parking). There is an entrance located at the back of the car park so there is no need to walk all the way around to the front.

Arrival and Facilities

On entry we were greeted by very helpful and informative staff and given a map. Luckily toilets are found just a few moments from here and then a little bit further down so is a cafe so you can freshen up and grab your tea/coffee before starting your day – perfect. The children’s play area is also located here but we had a rare child-free day out so we didn’t check this out.

Our Time at Kew Gardens

Kew is absolutely huge and we didn’t intend on seeing everything during our first visit but, to our surprise, we actually managed to cover most of it. We ticked off:

• Walking past Kew Palace – The oldest building at Kew Gardens and a very striking one
• Wandering through the kitchen garden – Lots of wonderful fruits and veg to be seen along with some companion planting ideas to consider
• The Princess of Wales Conservatory – A large glass conservatory containing 10 zones with different eco-systems and an abundance of plants
• The Palm House – The tropical palm house is packed full of stunning palms and other dense vegetation. This is a very hot and humid attraction and if you dare climb the spiral staircase up a little further prepare for that temperature to increase. It was worth it for taking in the plants from a different angle though
• The Temperate House – Home to 1,200 species from Asia, Australasia, the Americas and Africa this glass house provides a look at plants you may never have come across before
• The Hive – This striking piece of artwork stands at 17 metres tall and boasts 1000 LED lights that glow to the sounds of the music and bee recording being played. This was absolutely breathtaking
• The Treetop Walk – This walk stands at 18 metres high and gives a new perspective of the gardens. There are stairs or a lift to get up to the walkway but be warned, I could definitely feel a little movement as more of us walked across
• The Great Pagoda – Completed in 1762 this extraordinary building is inspired by East Asian designs. It is wonderful to admire from the outside and if you have time, you can book/queue to go inside

Throughout the walk to these main attractions, there are beautiful plants, flowers, smaller gardens, trees and woodlands. Overall we did 16,560 steps and as much as my feet ached, it was so worth it especially when this guy crossed our path…

There was so much to take in that I think you could have a completely different experience with each visit.

Food and Drink

We didn’t take our own lunch so we purchased all of our food and drink at Kew Gardens. We started the day with teas and coffees and I had an amazing vegan flapjack. At lunch, there was a really good selection of sandwiches/baguettes in the cafe we chose, as well as snacks and drinks and I was really impressed by their plant-based options. The only part I was confused about was their cup return scheme. We didn’t take our reusable tea cups as we had read about this return scheme so assumed you were given a reusable cup for the day and returned it when you left. However, we were always given a disposable cup with lid and had to bin this in their allocated blue bins with the message telling us “Returning your cup helps us save around 20,000 disposable cups every month”. After a little search on their website, it seems that all of these ARE plastic-free and they are composted, this wasn’t at all clear on the day which was a shame and next time I would take my own as I much prefer drinking from a solid cup and it looks as though you get money off if you do as well.

Facilities

At the time of writing this there are 10 toilet locations across Kew Gardens with most of these having baby change facilities within them. You can find bottle-warming stations at the Orangery and White Peaks Café. The paths are all very wide and smooth so are ideal for pushchairs and wheelchairs. You can find out more about accessibility and inclusion here.

There are also 10 water fountains dotted around the gardens and you can also ask to refill your water bottle in any cafe. Kew also has a prayer and reflection room.

Overall Thoughts

Kew Gardens is a wonderful day out. There is just so much to see, do and take in as well as admire and we cannot wait to visit again.

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