Visiting Kew Gardens has always been high on my list of must sees but we have never been able to coordinate it in previous trips. So this time we set aside a specific date and booked the train trip in advance. The train trip from Northampton to London is about an hour and if it is booked in advanced there are fares for £7.50 each way which makes it very economical. These fares are also outside of peak times so we left at 9:25am and our return trip was at 7:49pm. Once getting to Euston Station we then had to negotiate the Tube. Jessica had it all worked out for us and it really was quite simple. We took the Victoria Line (blue) to Victoria Station and then changed to the District Line (green) making sure we got the train going west to Richmond and had to get off at Kew Gardens station. It is quite a way out and it took us over an hour to get out to Kew from Euston but as it was late morning it wasn't crowded. Coming back was different. This was at 6pm and although the District Line trip was ok the Victoria Line one was horrendous. We literally felt like sardines jammed into a tin can. Just when you thought the carriage was packed to capacity the doors would open at the next stop and a couple more would squeeze in. All would 'suck in' as the doors closed. And to think thousands and thousands of people do this every day. One day was enough for us!!!
Once we got off the train we still had a short walk of half a kilometre to the gardens. We were lucky with the day as it was warm and sunny, quite a change from the many dull grey and some wet days we had been experiencing. We had purchased our entry tickets on line so there was no need to queue and we were able to head straight on into the gardens and make a decision on what to visit first. Kew Gardens cover over 300 acres so there is plenty to see and do. A 'Full of Spice' festival was running this summer and so we decided to take a Full of Spice tour. Barbara was our guide and she spent an hour with us taking us to many of the spice plants and displays and explaining about their origins and uses.
We spent the rest of the day self guiding ourselves around the various gardens and exhibitions. We visited the BBCs On a Plate Kitchen Garden, the Princess of Wales Conservatory, Kew Palace and their kitchens, the kitchen garden and herb garden. We went into the Lily pond glasshouse, walked the tree top walk and would have liked to visit the Temperate Glasshouse but it is undergoing a massive renovation and won't be open again until 2018. We saw the collection of plants from New Zealand, the Rose gardens, many signifant trees and much more. Half a day is not enough to see it all but we felt we certainly had a good introductory.
We did think we had another 45 minutes before closing time to see one more exhibition but unfortunately we got caught in a London downpour. We made for the Fernery conservatory and took shelter there along with many others. We had had time to don our jackets and open our umbrellas but we were still wet. We waited a good twenty minutes or more for it to ease before venturing outside again. This time it was our feet that got wet as there had been so much rain it hadn't been able to drain away and it was impossible not to stand in ankle deep water in places. It was at this point that we retraced our steps and train journeys all the way back to Northampton where Jessica was waiting to pick us up. It had been a long but enjoyable day.
The website link gives further detail about what is at Kew Gardens: http://www.kew.org/
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