Kew

Take all the time you need, it’s still some time away, no hurry

 

Hi FC, I do feel for you having nerve damage as I have PN damage and it's a nightmare

 

Oops ... just posting this now... I typed last night and must not have hit reply

I really Enjoyed travelling knto London by train. And I went to Waterloo station.

Then I took the underground and found it to be only a short few blocks walk to the entrance. If you get on the district (green) line, there are two trains. One finishes at Ealing, you will need the other one with Richmond as it's final stop. Kew is the second to last stop. Easy peasy for me... well, and then funnily enough a Oriental fellow figured I knew where I was going and tagged along until I got him to Waterloo station which is on the Jubilee line. Imagine the pride I felt in learning the system well enough to shepherd someone else and tame away their anxiety

 

Thanks for taking the time and trouble looking into that for me. I was though thinking of using trains as I understand there’s a station not too far from the site? I will have four days available to visit the ‘sites’, so I figure one of those days will be taken up visiting Kew. I’ll want to visit the natural history museum and the science museum and maybe even the V&A museum on another day, is that doable? Then I was thinking of doing a bus-top tour, can you get on and off at will? That’s another day. That’ll leave one more day to maybe do a river cruise or somesuch. What do you reckon?(sorry for all the questions )

 

Yes, the hop on hop off buses are everywhere. I looked online at their various routes and picked the company that would get me where I wanted to go. You can simply wait at one of their stops and pay the man when you board. Best to start early as it is for the day only. They give you ear buds to plug in and you can listen to information about the sights you are seeing.

I found taking the train straight to the station (I used Waterloo) which is the hub for just about everything, was convenient and to me, also not too expensive. There might be hop on hop off buses more clustered around the Victoria station

I believe the one I used was Golden Tours - and as I say, you can look online at their routes.

 

There is definitely such a magnetism when it comes to visiting London, including Greater London. Have to say Greater London so as to include Wisely Gardens.

Starting in Central London. The usual visits might include Buck House, parliament, Royal Parks etc. These are open venues. Then there are the museums and galleries. These are mostly free admission. Fortunately in my own personal case, I have freedom to go behind the scense for study purposes at the Natural History and British Museums. There are areas where you can buy bits and bobs, also there are of course refreshments. Refreshments are usually provided via a franchise. Take a deep deep breathe. At last! a cuppa. That will be 1.85 please. You might get a proper cup and saucer or simply a plastic or polystyrene container, well at least the tea bag is still present. Cheese and tom sandwich. now you really are splashing out. You could probably get a cut sliced loaf, a tub of marg or similar spread and a bag of grated cheese for less.
Remebering bygone years. Mum would almost pack the kitchen sink, simply for a day out. Add to all of that. Getting around London. OK there are now bus lanes etc but. When planning your day out in London, give yourselves plenty of travel time.

This brings me to visists to Wisely Gardens, Kew and the millenium seed bank. These places offer a much wider arena. To be honest. A day visit isn't going to give you much. If you simply wish to tick boxes, then OK. If you want to stand and sare and take in the natural beautites then. A day visit won't be enough . Even now, when vistin Kew. I am fot the Princess Diana Glasshouse. Once inside, I feel at home. Then I find myself exchanging information with visitors about the plants. At this juncture. I sadly have to note that, although a regular scientific visitor to the RBG Kew. I find the staff totally reluctant to stop and speak.

Enough said. Plan your visit. Be prepared to pay out lots. Enjoy your visit.

 

Excellent, thank you

 

Hello chums.
I finished my visit to London last Thursday. Visited Kew on the previous Sunday.

A couple of pics...

 

A few more...
Apparently, these are quite popular

 

And a few more...



The Girt Pagoda...



Found a nice quiet spot to sit down for a nice cuppa tea and a slice a cake...



The borders were probably past their best, but still quite impressive...



Quite impressed with these Amaranthus...do they normally grow this big?



All in all, I was quite impressed with Kew. It was though marred a bit by the fact that I am currently suffering with Plantar Fasciitis. No, not something tropical, a painful foot complaint

A bit of a struggle getting round, which meant I couldn’t get to see all of it. Definitely worth a visit for those that haven’t been

 

@Fat Controller , just to add, we had a great time in London. We caught a train every day from Denham to Marylebone, from there it was easy to get around. The daily ticket was just over £14 each for unlimited travel. I always thought that 4 days wasn’t going to be enough, and so it proved. I have to say that the transport system is quite superb, compared with what I’m used to anyway. We must go for another visit...

The view from the Shard...