Day 9 brought about only one attraction - but it was a little out of the way from Central London. When we first told Siew's cousins that we were going to Kew Gardens, their reaction gave me the impression that we were in for a long commute. Perhaps its a combination of being by a great tube station (South Kensington) and that the underground is massively efficient, but the train to Kew only took 20 minutes - time well spent to an attraction well worth the visit. Here is a map of where Kew Gardens is located relative to us.
Kew Gardens (3.5 of 5)
One thing we appreciated was as soon as we stepped off the train station - there was a "deafening silence" as Siew put it to the little town of Kew that was welcoming and immediately noticeable. Kew looks to be a stunning town that is high on the income bracket. Very reminiscent of Elbow Park or Mission in Calgary. Also known as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Gardens is located in Kew which is a few miles south of Central London and the garden is a "mere" 300 acres. What we were expecting and what we got were two different things but it was all good at the end. I was really expecting a Butchart Gardens type place but I believe that it has stronger parallels to Balboa Park in San Diego vice the buildings. Kew's real mission though is focused on plant conservation. They've been successful in collecting 10% of all the world's flowering plants with a lofty goal of preserving seed samples from all the plants on Earth. Unfortunately - I'm no botanist so much of the trees I see look all the same. Make no mistake though the kids will have a great time here especially if they love the outdoors like our kids do. They have a treetop walk, multiple atriums with different themes, vast areas for picnics, and a huge indoor/outdoor playground that is perfect for kids 6m - 6yrs. We were a little disappointed with the lack of flowers etc, but the multiple activities and the chance to have some peace and quiet for a short while made it a great way to spend a nice weather day.
