Category Archives: Richmond-upon-Thames

Christmas at Kew

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Christmas at Kew

Kew Gardens has one of the world’s greatest collection of plants, and you can get an idea of what there is to see by taking a look at my post Kew Gardens – an Introduction, but there are other things on offer too, and one of the highlights of the year is Christmas at Kew.

Christmas at Kew involves a trail around the gardens that will enchant people of all ages. Each November, a range of multi-coloured lights are switched on to illuminate, not only the natural world of Kew, but also a variety of art installations that together give people a feel-good factor that only Christmas can bring.

If you feel like getting into the Christmas spirit then you can find all the relevant details from their website below.

https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/christmas-at-kew

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Originally posted 2018-11-20 16:38:47.

A Kew Gardens Gallery

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A Kew Gardens Gallery

Kew Gardens is much more than just a collection of plants as my post Kew Gardens – an Introduction will show, but instead of describing everything in detail (which I couldn’t possibly do anyway), I’ll let the pictures do the talking instead. So sit back and just admire what more than 260 years of hard work, dedication and good old British ingenuity have managed to accomplish.

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Originally posted 2022-11-26 13:45:19.

Kew Gardens – An Introduction

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Kew Gardens - An Introduction

Just as it’s impossible to see the whole of Kew Gardens in one visit, the same thing applies to writing about it, and so I’ve decided to begin with an overview of how the gardens evolved and the main areas of interest.

To give you an indication of the magnitude of the place, it boasts that it has the “largest and most diverse botanical and mycological (fungi) collections in the world” with more than 30,000 different kinds of plants, an Herbarium with over 7 million specimens, a library with 750,000 books, and more than 175,000 prints and drawings. To that you can add five Grade I listed buildings, and (including its sister botanical garden at Wakehurst in West Sussex) currently employs around 800 staff. It even has its own police force. No wonder it’s on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.

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Originally posted 2018-11-20 13:43:48.

A Wander Around Richmond (On Thames)

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A Wander Around Richmond (On Thames)

Richmond-upon-Thames is one of the more affluent of London’s 32 boroughs: It includes the suburbs of Kew, which I’ve already written about, and Hampton, Teddington and Twickenham, which I haven’t (yet), but this post is just about the town of Richmond itself.

The name Richmond originates from the French words ‘riche’ (meaning mighty) and ‘mont’ (meaning hill), and was initially associated with Richmond Castle in North Yorkshire, and so it’s not difficult to see why King Henry VII, the former Earl of Richmond, named his home here on the bank of the River Thames Richmond Palace – but don’t run away with the idea that it’s that simple just yet.

The second part of its name – Upon-Thames – was added when the borough was created in 1965, and alludes to the fact that it straddles both sides of the river. The suffix is supposed to distinguish it from, shall we say, Henley-On-Thames which sits on just one side of the river.

If you’re not confused yet, then what about if I tell you that the town of Richmond doesn’t carry the suffix that the borough does because it doesn’t occupy both banks of the river. OK, so why have I called this post Richmond-on-Thames? It’s obvious really isn’t it? I wanted to distinguish it from Richmond in Yorkshire – but it occupies only one side of the river. Got it? No, nor have I. I’m already wondering how many keyboard warriors are going to pull me up about the title without reading what I’ve just said.

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Originally posted 2025-08-26 16:17:22.