Kew Gardens, located in southwest London, is one of the world’s most renowned botanical gardens, with its vast collection of plants and its role in scientific research and conservation. Spanning over 300 acres, Kew is home to more than 50,000 living plant species, along with iconic attractions like the Palm House, the Temperate House, and the Treetop Walkway.
Established in 1759, Kew Gardens offers visitors a chance to explore diverse ecosystems, from tropical rainforests to alpine environments, while enjoying stunning landscapes, historic glasshouses, and a wealth of educational resources. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a must-visit destination for nature lovers, horticulturists, and families.
Our ‘Tube Trekking‘ adventure starts at ‘Kew Gardens Station’ but you can also start from ‘Richmond Tube Station’. We entered the park at Victoria Gate (TW9 3JR) which is on the main road. The gardens are also very accessible by bus, but I always find it easier to use the Tube.
Welcome to the Kew Botanical Gardens walk. We’ll start at ‘Kew Gardens Station‘ tube station.
Getting There: Directions, GPX and App Link
The Hiking App I use is ‘OutdoorActive‘ which has a free and Pro version, the Pro version will allow you to download the routes to your phone and use them without using up your data. The reason I mention it is that if you were to download it, below is the link to this route in my hike list on that app, you can follow the arrows and voice on that. I think it is best that you do get the app, as most of these walks are a bit tricky to explain.
Navigation Aids:
Trek Profile
- Distance: 4m / 6km
- Duration: 4-5 hours (So much to see and a very relaxing walk, so we took our time.)
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Trek Description & Pics
This route is available from my OutdoorActive account, it is free and will guide you all the way around, no getting lost. Once on the app, click ‘Navigate’ in the bottom bar, and from the walk’s start point it will guide you all the way around.
Let’s get going – If you need help organising this trip, see links below.
My ‘London Resource Kit‘ at the bottom of this page, will help you organise your travel, trips, food, accommodation and bus tours when planning your visit to London, it’s all there to help you plan, give it a go.
You’ll start off at ‘Kew Gardens Station’, walk directly onto ‘Lichfield Road’ and it will take you straight to ‘Victoria Gate’ and into Kew Gardens, couldn’t get any easier than that!
As you arrive at the station, you will love the shops and cafes both sides of the station. Before heading out in the direction of the Botanical Gardens, take a look around the whole area, it is very beautiful, it also has a pub on the station called ‘The Tap On The Line’.
At the end of the road, you will see the entrance to the Botanical Gardens, the gate in front of you is called ‘Victoria Gate’. The busy road you need to cross runs into Richmond, and if you arrive at Richmond Tube Station, you’ll have a 25-minute walk to Victoria Gate.
Moving on – Inside the gardens we went for another coffee, it’s where the toilets and the shop is, so we went in had a look around and had a look at the merch. After that we walked to the lake in front of the Palm House before going in.
The world famous ‘Palm House, an indoor rainforest housing tropical plants from threatened environments, including the oldest pot plant in the world!
You can’t miss this house it is directly in front of you beside the lake. We spent quite a bit of time just wondering around, looking at the plants and taking in the natural beauty of this place.
The plants are all mostly endangered or extinct in the wild, and you get a real feeling of being in a rain forest, minus the deadly animals and various insects.
The Palm House constructed in 1844 by Richard Turner was the first glasshouse built on this scale. Architects borrowed techniques from the ship building industry – which may explain why the Palm House resembles the upturned hull of a ship.
Moving on – Leaving the Palm House we walked to the other side of the lake and not far from the ‘Botanical Brasserie’ is the stunning ‘Princess of Wales Conservatory’. Leave the rain forest enter the desert and tropics.
The ‘Princess of Wales Conservatory‘, is a new journey from the deserts to the tropics through a series of glassy computer-controlled ecosystems.
I loved the giant waterlilys, and I have always been fascinated by cactus, so it was interesting to see various types, and how they grow.
In the carnivorous plants zone, you’ll get to see predatory species like Venus flytraps or pitcher plants and how they have evolved, and then in the steamy zones there are orchids and bromeliads.
In 1985 Sir David Attenborough buried a time capsule containing seeds of basic food crops and endangered species in the foundation of the Princess of Wales Conservatory.
Moving on – Leaving here from the rear entrance, we made our way to the left, up the path and followed the humm coming from the amazing ‘Hive’ installation, replicating life inside a beehive.
The ‘Hive‘ is a 17-metre-tall contemporary art installation in a wildflower meadow recreating life inside a beehive. Become a bee for the day!
This is an amazing experience, and as it gets dark early in the winter, I think it would be the perfect time to visit this, I think the whole experience with the 1000 LED lights would be brilliant. The lights glow according to the vibrations of bees that live in the Gardens.
In the background, a musical symphony responds to this activity. You might (or might not) notice that every sound is performed in the key of C – the very key that bees buzz in!
The Hive is a visual tribute to Britain’s honeybees, and is surrounded by wildflowers to celebrate the environments that real bees need to thrive and the challenges they face.
Moving on – From there we made our way to the ‘Great Broad Walk Borders’, and yes we went for another coffee and some chips in ‘The Orangery’, used the toilets and then headed left and popped into ‘Kew Palace’, before joining the ‘Riverside Walk’.
The Riverside Walk path at the top of the park, takes you through beautiful woods, a view of Syon, around the Lake and onto Redwood Grove.
We had a look at Kew Palace then visited the ‘Family Kitchen & Shop’ with its children’s park, this is a brilliant place for families to eat, use the facilities and play.
We then joined the Riverside Walk which is so quiet and peaceful and we saw foxes, squirrels, huge varieties of trees and some really interesting views.
We circled the lake and then joined ‘Redwood Grove’ heading to the ‘Great Pagoda’.
Moving on – Stay on the path, but a worthwhile little detour that’s worth taking is through the Redwoods. Beautiful large trees, and a tree that I always wanted to see in America. The next big stop is at the ‘Great Pagoda’.
Next up the ‘Great Pagoda’, with spectacular views across London.
The Great Pagoda had a major restoration and now it’s possible to reach the top via a winding, quite steep circular staircase, and up there you can see some fantastic views across Greater London.
The Pagoda was completed in 1762 as a gift for Princess Augusta, the founder of the Gardens, and it’s one of several Chinese buildings around Kew designed by Sir William Chambers. Take a look at the 80 carved gilded wood dragons on all the roofs, they are beautiful.
Moving on – As you leave the pagoda in front of you there is an avenue of tree’s called ‘Thorn Avenue’, follow this to the entrance of ‘Temperate House’, the last house on this walk.
– Find accommodation in London with Booking.com
The ‘Temperate House’, houses rare and threatened plants in the world’s largest Victorian glasshouse. Home to 1,200 species from Asia, Australasia, the Americas, and Africa.
The Grade 1 listed Temperate House is an iconic landmark and is home to over 1,200 species of plants from Asia, Australasia, the Americas, and Africa, and it was voted ‘Best UK National Treasure’ at the 2018 National Geographic Traveller Magazine Reader Awards.
In 2018 after a five-year renovation, the house re-opened and is a must see not only at Kew Gardens, but I think in the UK, it’s absolutely unique and beautiful.
To have all these houses in one place at Kew is very special.
Moving on – We left the house the opposite side we entered, then turned left and directly behind the house there is a path heading into the woods, and to the brilliant ‘Treetop Walkway’.
Book your ‘Kew Gardens’ entry tickets here
Take a walk along the ‘Treetop Walkway’, and get close to Kews’s trees and discover magical views of the Gardens 18 metres above the ground.
Towering 18 metres above the ground, the Treetop Walkway is a chance to get closer to Kew’s trees.
You can observe the birds, animals and insects as they make their living in the tree tops, it’s very fascinating.
Whatever your vantage point, it’s a tree-lined path with a twist, offering a glimpse into the secret life of woods and forests.
Congratulations, you’ve completed the ‘Kensington Gardens & Hyde Park Walk!’ Hopefully, the weather has been on your side, and you’ve had an incredible experience. To make your journey even smoother, I recommend downloading this route from the Outdooractive app. It will provide you with reassurance about timing and ensure you stay on the right track. With so much space and various paths in the area, it’s easy to unintentionally veer off course.
I truly hope you’ve enjoyed this walk, and I would greatly appreciate it if you could share this post using the social media buttons on your left or in the footer below. Your comments are also more than welcome—I love connecting with new people and discussing our shared experiences. Who knows, we might even meet up on one of our future walks. Thank you for joining me on this memorable adventure, and here’s to many more to come!
You could arrange all your travel, days out, meals and tickets with all the links below. I have used every one of these options in various countries, and I was very pleased.
- Find ‘accommodation’ in and near Central London using booking.com
- Book your ‘Kew Gardens’ entry tickets here
- Find cheap ‘bus‘ & ‘train‘ tickets for your next trip
- Rent ‘cars’ at best prices in all countries
- ‘Tripadvisor in London‘ – well we all know what this awesome website offers!
- Things to do in ‘London’, including niche offers you won’t find anywhere else
- Experience the best of London on a Hop-on, Hop-off London ‘Big Bus Tour‘
- Local trips or cross-country, find info and ‘book train tickets’ for popular journeys in the UK and rest of Europe.