Christmas At Kew Gardens

For a long time, Kew Gardens were on my to-do list. When I moved to London, I looked for places to visit and Kew Gardens seemed really nice. However, for some reason, I never went there. I think it was a bit far from my house. Finally, in 2015, I went to Christmas At Kew with a friend.

Kew Gardens

I didn’t remember that, but Kew Gardens are classified as UNESCO World Heritage site. The gardens started being built in 1759, by a member of the royal family: Princess Augusta, the mother of King George III. Since then, there have been several evolutions and additions to the gardens: for example, the treetop walkway only opened in 2008 (already 13 years ago, I know, but still pretty recent compared to 1759).

Kew Gardens are Royal Botanical Gardens and include more than 50,000 living plants. Like most of the botanical gardens now, the park has a Japanese garden. What’s attracting me the most is the treetop walkway, that I have never seen. Even if it seems quite small, I’m thinking of maybe giving it a go next time I manage to fly to London.

Christmas At Kew

Every year, during Christmas, Kew Gardens change and their pumpkins turn into coaches! I mean, the park becomes wonderful… You know what I mean… Anyway, you go there at night and it’s full of lights and smells of roasted chestnuts. Yummy (but quite expensive).

I remember being disappointed at first because it was just lights in the trees and on the greenhouse. But that was OK, I was with Leila, a cool friend who was very enthusiastic, and I could still take nice pictures. So I started taking a few photos of trees, playing with the lights.

But once you go further into the gardens, there are more lights, and suddenly, I forgot the trees. There were giant gift boxes and candy canes glowing in the night! And then, it seems they went for something impressive, but not so much related to the Christmas theme: flowers, peacocks, a phoenix… I really enjoyed it though! There were also alleys of golden and white lights. I’m telling you this, but I guess it changes every year, so it might be different if you go now.

At the end of the path (and at the beginning since it’s a circle), there’s a lake. It faces the greenhouse and the Kew Gardens do a light show that is both on the building and on the water. Fountains and water jets complete the scene. The colours and patterns change regularly. It is really nice to sit for a moment and watch the show. It’s even better with a hot beverage (and a warm coat).

To this day, I still haven’t visited the whole gardens during the day, and I hope I will be able to.

To see more photos of the United Kingdom, you can visit the gallery United Kingdom.