Visit to Kew Gardens - Saturday, 8th April 2006
Anne Bond
When
agreeing to write about the Kew Gardens visit, our Hon. Publicity
Officer quipped - I expect you'll start the article "We came, we saw,
we Kew-ed". As it was so awful - I thought I really ought to share it
with you all! Thanks Mike, what would we do without you! (Actually
though we didn't have to queue at all, even though it was a perfect
Spring day and there were hoards of people with the same idea as the
AQSC contingent.)
On the day, 13 of us met up for lunch at the Rose &
Crown on Kew Green (which I can warmly recommend to anyone finding
themselves in the vicinity thereof with a healthy appetite) and then
decided whether their preference was for the gardens or the steam
museum. The majority of us chose the gardens and had a terrific time
(as I believe did the steam enthusiasts - about which Mike will regale
you more fully).
Since Leo and I hadn't visited Kew for over 25 years, we
knew we were in for a real treat and we certainly weren't disappointed.
We walked and walked (and talked and talked!) - and managed to fit in a
good percentage of the available treats, whilst leaving many more for a
time when our feet were less weary.
We
started off by meandering through the grounds in loose groups, taking
in the beautiful displays of spring flowers, shrubs and trees en route
to the new Davies Alpine House - as featured on Gardeners World.. This
is a magnificent piece of engineering but as alpine plants don't excite
us greatly, we didn't linger too long..
Next on our list was the Princess of Wales
Conservatory, where in addition to seeing some truly memorable plants,
two of our number were fortunate enough to meet a rather handsome,
large green water dragon in amongst the aquatic displays.
Then, on to the Waterlily House (not a huge amount
out at present unfortunately) and the Palm House (totally awe inspiring
in both the scale and variety of plants and trees).
An added bonus was the aquarium where fascinating
fish abounded in glorious colours and made for some pretty pictures. We
then walked to the Japanese Minka House (interesting - not a nail or
screw used throughout its construction) and through the Rhododendron
Dale (where some of us saw a golden pheasant plus a group of 9
Guineafowl).
We ended up with a reviving drink (non-alcoholic!)
at White Peaks before gathering the strength to totter off to the car
park and thence home - tired but happy.
PS: We would all like to thank Nigel and Anne for
generously sharing their free day passes with us so that we were able
to have a truly memorable day out for a mere £3.50 per head.
