Park Life - Kew Gardens, London

They lured me in with promises of traipsing through the treetops. Add in a lake, a palace, a pagoda, and miles of paths meandering through the world’s largest collection of living plants and you have all the ingredients for a spectacular day in the park. Throughout the 15 years that I have been exploring London, Kew Gardens has been on my park list. However, it wasn’t until a recent trip that I finally made the journey to Kew to see if the park’s beauty matched its reputation. And it did with Autumn colors!

Name: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (more commonly called Kew Gardens)

Location: Kew in Southwest London, England

Size: approximately 300 acres

Established: 1759

Park Highlights


Rhizotron & Xstrata Treetop Walkway

One of the newest additions to Kew Gardens, the Treetop Walkway, opened in 2008 and allows you to take in the sweeping beauty of the garden suspended along a metal walkway almost 60 feet in the air.

Climb the winding staircase to access the 660 foot long pathway in the tree canopy and feel the wind in your hair as you tower over the greenery far below you.

Temperate House

Located near the Treetop Walkway, the Temperate House has the distinction of being the world’s largest Victorian glasshouse still surviving. Renowned plants and trees from temperate climates around the globe have been housed beneath this wrought iron and glass structure since 1863.

One of the treasures that can be found here is the Chilean Wine Palm. Planted in 1843, the palm was last measured in 1985 at 58 feet tall and is considered the tallest glasshouse plant in the world.

Kew Palace and the Great Pagoda

Two notable structures in the park are Kew Palace and the Great Pagoda.

Along the banks of the Thames, the fourth iteration of Kew Palace was built in 1631. More the size of a manor house, Kew Palace is considered the smallest of the British Palaces and reopened to the public in 2006 after a decade of restoration work.

The 163 foot high Great Pagoda is nestled among the trees deep in the garden. Erected in 1762, the pagoda was originally not very popular with the community due to its towering height. However, over time it has become one of the many beloved symbols of the park. There is a staircase built in the center of the structure, however it is no longer open to the public.

Sackler Crossing

The lake in Kew Gardens was created in 1856 and boasts of having four islands. In 2006, the first ever bridge, called Sackler Crossing, was constructed. The bridge allows for easier access to areas of the park that were previously overlooked.

With so many treasures scattered around the park, I was only able to cover so much ground during the three hours I spent here. Do yourself a favor and head out of the center of London to sample this patch of greenery for yourself. You won’t regret it.