A visit to Kew Gardens in London, Richmond
Posted at April 5, 2004 20:18 (UTC) from London, UK
Public transport in London is not the best on a Sunday. So it took over 45 minutes to get there by a direct link. Well, if you ever go this route, you can understand why it takes so long. Silverlink Trains, the operator of this route, runs such badly rundown trains. You never would believe! Furthermore, the tracks are in a diabolical state. I think, this route, from Hackney Central to Kew Gardens is a very good example of the poor situation of British railnetwork. For more information, just have a look in the category 'Railway', where I have posted and am going to post a few entries about my experiences with British railway companies. ;-)
Finally arrived a Kew Gardesn stations, it is just a five minute walk to the Victoria Gate entrance of the gardens itself. The admission fee is quite expensive (Adults: 8.50 GBP, Concession: 6.00 GBP), but it is worth it.
At this time of the season, there is not so much to see outside. However, the glass houses offer you a beautiful trip into the Tropical Forrest or other nices places of the world. The Temperate House is quite pretty and you should see it! We had the luck to see the the flower 'Bird of the Paradise' blooming. Just look here to see this beautiful flower.
However, as nice as the gardens and the glass houses are, you unfortunately cannot find true silence there to relax. It's a shame, that the gardens are directly located in the flight path of Heathrow Airport. Frequently, every 25 seconds, you can see and hear an aeroplane going straight down to Heathrow. The planes must have an altitude of less then 300 meters. I think, now you can imagine, what noise, for example, a Jumbo Jet causes crossing you at this altitude.
