Thank Kew

It is quite a few years since I was at Kew Gardens in west London. These formal royal properties now form the largest botanical gardens in the world. They have an amazing collection of plants and trees from around the globe.

We took my parents there for the day. They almost missed the train as their station was flooded by the recent rain. They made it and we met them along the way. We could have driven, but getting into London can be a drag. We have a railcard that gives us a nice discount when the two of us travel together. There is a station at Kew, but that was closed. We went to Richmond instead and got a bus that took us to the entrance.

There are various 'follies' around the gardens. The famous pagoda is over 250 years old. We did not have time to go up it this time and my mother could not have managed all the steps. We made some use of the road 'train' that can take you around to save on some walking. You do have to pay extra to use that.

Within the garden is this small palace that was home to King George III and his large family (15 kids!). If you have seen the film The Madness of King George this is where he was treated for his mental illness and his queen Charlotte died there.

Some of the trees are hundreds of years old. This one has collapsed somewhat and is propped up with a brick wall built around the base. It is still alive.

A more recent addition is The Hive. Of course I had to check this out. It is a piece of art representing a beehive with a metal frame full of hexagons. Inside there are pulsing lights and the sound of bees. It sounds strange, but is quite inspiring when you are in there.

There is other art there with a set of sculptures my Marc Quinn inspired by the plants.

I think the treetop walkway is a new addition since I was last there. It gives you a very different perspective so you can look down on these mighty trees. We went up the stairs rather than taking the lift.

Not all plants can survive the British climate and so there are several large glasshouses. This one had some amazing ferns and more exotic plants.

This is another piece by Marc Quinn based on their collection of bonsai trees.

Our last stop was in the much warmer palm house where they can grow bananas.

There is lots more we did not have time to see on this trip, so we may well go back again soon. It will all look quite different in other seasons.

We all enjoyed the day, but my parents just cannot walk so much these days and they were worn out. We made use of a couple of the cafes in the gardens for drinks and lunch. We did really well for catching busses and trains that seemed to turn up just when we needed them. Coming back the trains were really busy, but then lots of people will take a trip into London at the weekend.