Kew Gardens (London)

Advantages: Horticulture at its best a delight for all the family
Disadvantages: can be expensive and your feet will ache

...nicknamed Farmer George. He chose Kew Palace and the grounds as a home to his family outside of court. George was isolated at Kew during his madness until his recovery. In 1840 the gardens became a national Botanical Gardens. Queen Victoria gave numerous buildings to the gardens and eventually it was extended from its original 75 acres into the gardens we have today In the big storm of 1987 some of the old trees around the lawn behind the Water ...
...than before. In 2003 Kew was recognised as a "unique cultural landscape" by the United Nations, and was given World Heritage Site status. The then UK environment minister Lord Whitty said: "The gardens give pleasure to a million visitors each year while contributing on a major scale to the conservation and understanding of biodiversity." ************** HOW TO GET THERE. On the south bank of the Thames near to Richmond is a 300 acre site that is ... Read review

Advantages: very restful day trip area
Disadvantages: can be expensive- best take own food

...great joy my trips to kew gardens along with my parents and sister. I would like to tell you a little about the area. The 288 acres contains more than 25,000 varieties of differnt plants. It is set away from all the hussle of the busy built-up areas, and is very worth of a trip if you are near at any time. It is also know as the Royal Botanic Gardens.The gardens began in the year 1759 by princess Augusta,George III's mother. At the dutch house(kew ...
...be seen very clearly. Kew itself is on the river,with a village that has 18th century houses. The painters Gainsborough and Zoffany are in fact buried in the churchyards here. The area is one of total peacefulness and tranquility. The gardens are very popular especially in the spring and summer when so many roses and other plants are out and the scents waffle along as you walk. The gardens tended to open around 10am and the glasshouses later at ... Read review

Advantages: Plenty to see all year around
Disadvantages: Can be expensive

Kew Gardens opens its gates on selected evenings during the winter, allowing visitors to see the famous gardens from a different perspective. Entry is free, although donations are welcome. Sadly this review is a little late for this winter, but hopefully it will be of some use for those interested in visiting next winter. Kew at nighttime has the ability to enchant. The old and majestic trees within the grounds are up lit by carefully positioned ...
...through the Main Gate (at Kew Green) one follows the path, which is edged by hanging lanterns, towards the Orangery. Just beyond the Orangery a carousel is available for both children and those who are simply young at heart. If one follows the path towards, and past, the carousel then a fine exhibition of winter landscape photography (‘Winter Exposed’ www.uklandscape.net) can be viewed at White Peaks. Also at White Peaks is Santa in his grotto, ready ... Read review

Advantages: The sheer space of it! The gardens comprise around 300 acres and although when we visited there were lots of people pouring through the entrance gate it was only in the restaurants that we felt crowded
Disadvantages: More parking facilities would be great but then I wouldn't want them to take any space away from the gardens for it

...yet after one visit to Kew Gardens I almost joined the 'Friends of Society (and most probably still will ehen I get a bit more organised). Although don't live very far from Kew, and have been living not very far and driving past it once a month or so for the past three years I had never even thought of visiting. However, one Sunday afternoon in August, after a weekend of back garden revamping that ground force would have been proud of bloke and ...
...at Kew. I checked out the website (www.kew.org) for parking information, opening times etc and found a very nice site, both easy on the eye and to navigate and after double checking our route off we trotted. The first problem we encountered was parking, it seems that most visitors abandon their cars along the side of the main road (A307). Not sure of the parking regulations and wary of getting a ticket we turned up a side road and parked a few ... Read review

Advantages: Beautiful plants and gardens... lovely picnic spots... nice and peaceful
Disadvantages: Caterers (Sodexho) don't seem to do Kew credit.

I was raised near Kew Gardens and was taken there many times as a child. Years ago it was one old penny to go in there, now it is a fiver although there are concessionary admitance fees. With its 45,000 species of plants there must be something to appeal to everyone at Kew, and the greenhouses guarantee it is a safe bet for a day out, whatever the weather. Kew Gardens is an easy tube ride out from the center of London on the Richmond Line and it ...
...Bus from Westminster Pier to Kew Pier. The Gardens is a 250 acre site, and if you visit on a summer day, it might seem to be packed full. However I have never failed to find a quiet, peaceful spot to eat a picnic. There are some lovely spots by the lakes and on a hot, sunny day you can watch huge fish jumping up to eat the mosquitoes. I took a friend there recently, I made the mistake of not packing a picnic. It was a bad move as for lunch we bought ... Read review

Advantages: It's pretty impressive, especially if you're interested in botany of course, good facilities
Disadvantages: Rather over-priced at the moment, not as spectacular as you're lead to believe

...then this is all interesting and certainly worth seeing, but I question whether, for what you can see here, it really represents good value for money (for a single visit) when compared to places like Kew Gardens (in London) or The Royal Botanical Gardens (in Birmingham), both of which are considerably cheaper. If the price doesn't rise when they've completed the third biome it will of course represent better value, though £12 still seems a little steep… of course, you could bike it and get in for £9! Disabled Access Considerable thought has been given to this, and while there are certain areas that cannot be reached by wheelchairs, there are very few of these and contain nothing mind-blowing that someone in a wheelchair would be dismayed at missing. We had to unexpectedly ask for a wheelchair for a family member - got one straight away (battery... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Cheap when you know how ! Everything in one city
Disadvantages: Can be rather hectic in rush hour

...Last summer myself and partner took ourselves the 70 miles to london for the weekend. For the whole weekend we probably spent around £200 including travel heres a quick guide to how you can save and some places we recommend. Prebook your train tickets in advance this way as long as you can give a definate time of leaving your local station and the same for the return from london you will get a discount, We saved 50% I highly recommend if you are visiting for sightseeing only to buy a london pass, This entitles free entry to over 50 places of intrest including ( I will include only where we visited and benefits ) Tower Of London Free Entry Kew Gardens Free Entry London Aquarium Namco Station ( Arcade ) £5 Free Tokens ( Dodgems Recommended ) Bayswater Ice Rink 1 Session Of bowling / Ice Skating Canal Boat Return Trip From... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: an enchanting place
Disadvantages: none

...-out, but the garden is so small that it isn´t needed to find the way, it´s informative, though, as some parts of the garden have the names of famous visitors who´re introduced. The Marianne North Terrace is dedicated to the English botanical painter who lived in the mansion for two months in 1875, some copies of her pictures are placed in the garden showing that even after more 130 years it hasn´t changed much. She was a diligent artist, the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew in London displays all her 832 paintings. We´ve only seen the garden around Christmas, i.e., in winter, but for us Central Europeans it´s fascinating, we feel it´s springtime what with green bushes and trees, bougainvillea, hibiscus and other flowers in bloom whose names I haven´t checked knowing I´d forget them at once after leaving the garden. A 450-year-old dragon tree, one... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful