Kew Palace
The 17th of August 2025
Today is probably the last day of summer for 2025. We’ve had four spells of warm, two of the hot weather and today. although sunny throughout. there was a chilly NE wind which kept us cool
My main task was to find Kew Palace. Kew Palace is not really a palace, but was a wealthy London Merchant’s house, but when King George III began having his bouts of madness, the house formed a convenient place, hidden in the bend of the river Thames where the King could be kept in a virtual prison until he recovered.
The Dutch House now known as Kew Palace, seen from the rear.
In front of it, an elaborate 18th-century style garden has been laid out
The orangery built by Sir William Chambers in 1761.
It was never used as an orangery as the windows are not big enough to let enough sun in,
so it is now used as a restaurant.
I then went on and found the entrance to the palace which I had previously thought was the entrance to a workshop. The palace looks magnificent. It is of course the original Dutch palace and various bigger ones were added on but they were all demolished at one time or another; fortunately the best one has remained. However there was no obvious entrance for wheelchairs but I went right round the front garden and found a passage on the side which led to a magnificent garden. I think in fact the garden is a replica but it is very well done and I did see an entrance for a wheelchair.
The new ‘Carbon Garden’
Then I made my way back looking to find out where the Elizabeth Gate was, and I then made my way back along the Ginkgo Lane, looking for ‘The Hive’. I thought I found it but I in fact found what is called the Carbon Garden, only recently opened, with a strange mushroom like contraption at the centre. It was meant to be the centre of a climate change bonanza telling us about carbon. I thought it was a terrible mishmash for what they needed to say was that carbon dioxide is good for plants but they wanted to say instead it was bad for humans, though they didn’t admit that from a geological point of view, we are at a carbon low. I have since discovered that the Hive is further on, but I missed it and I came back along the rather hazardous narrow paths showing alpine plants. Next time, perhaps.
(I saw it later – click here)