Kew Outing

Lately we've been wanting to have a few weekend adventures before Lois starts big girl school. Two weekends ago we went to Kew Gardens. It's been on our "to visit" for a while now, but every time we think of going it seems like quite a haul to get there without a car so we kept putting it off. But then we realized we could take a boat there, and though that made the journey longer, it just seemed more fun, so we decided to go that route. From Westminster Pier we took a ferry straight to Kew. It was a 90 minute journey, but it went by really quickly because the captain gave us a bit of a historical tour along the way. We also brought a few snacks to eat as well, which kept Lois happily occupied for a while.
Kew Gardens was great, though I'd like to go back in Spring or early Summer when most of the gardens are reaching their peak rather than coming down from them. And if you have a small child, I recommend going early in the day as the grounds are large and very spread out. There is quite a lot to see and do at Kew, and you can easily fill an entire day there. Artemis has a nice blog post on more of what goes on behind the scenes at Kew, accompanied by lovely photos. The garden gift shop was great as well. You approach the shop as you leave the gardens. We were a bit out of steam once we reached it, but a quick browse was very enjoyable. Here are a few photos from our day out. The Palm House was particularly dramatic-looking in the otherwise green scenery. (Lois loved seeing bananas actually growing.) And I especially liked the Princess of Wales succulent conservatory. I'm not usually particularly drawn to succulents, but the conservatory was really impressive and so were the plants inside. I'm looking forward to another Kew visit next year.