Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Established in 1759, Kew's Royal Botanic Gardens have grown from their original eight
acres into a 300-acre site in which more than 33,000 species are grown in plantations and
glasshouses. The display attracts nearly two million visitors every year, who come to enjoy
the beautiful landscaped parkland and steamy palmhouses. There's always something to see,
whatever the season, but to get the most out of the place, come sometime between spring
and autumn, bring a picnic and stay for the day.
The majority of people arrive at Kew Gardens tube and train station, a few minutes' walk
east of the Victoria Gate. Immediately opposite the Victoria Gate, the Palm House is by far
the most celebrated of the glasshouses, a curvaceous mound of glass and wrought-iron de-
signed by Decimus Burton in the 1840s. Its drippingly humid atmosphere nurtures most of
the known palm species, while there's a small but excellent tropical aquarium in the base-
ment. South of here is the largest of the glasshouses, the Temperate House , which contains
plants from every continent, including the sixty-foot Chilean Wine Palm, one of the largest
indoor palms in the world. Nearby is the Treetop Walkway , which lifts you 60ft off the
ground, and gives you a novel view of the tree canopy.
Elsewhere in the park, Kew's origins as an eighteenth-century royal pleasure garden are
evident in the diminutive royal residence, Kew Palace (Easter-Sept daily 10am-5.30pm;
free), bought by George II as a nursery for his umpteen children. There are numerous follies
dotted about the gardens, the most conspicuous of which is the ten-storey, 163-foot-high Pa-
goda , visible to the south of the Temperate House. A sure way to lose the crowds is to head
for the thickly wooded, southwestern section of the park around Queen Charlotte's Cot-
tage (April-Sept Sat & Sun 11am-4pm; free), a tiny thatched summerhouse built in the
1770s as a royal picnic spot for George III's queen.
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