Kew Gardens London with Kids! – When we visited London with the tots we sought out a few contrasting parks to let them do their worst.
Kew Gardens has gone out of its way to attract families, holding lots of kiddie events and activities so if you’re organised you can tap into an attraction, but if you randomly turn up, tourist stylee, that will work out just grand too.
Firstly the gardens are pretty vast, 300 acres to explore. Despite Kew being desperately civilised, and in a lovely part of the city, here your wild things can run wild.
There are picnics to be eaten, trees to climb, geese to gape at, and elegant houses before which your child can perform modern interpretive dance (see below). This kind of open space in London is not to be sniffed at.
The Royal Botanic Gardens sound and feel like a very adult space – parents can admire the plants and gardens, the landscaping, the architecture etc., yet kids are so very at home here too.
Palm House and Aquarium
For example the Palm House is considered to be the most important Victorian iron and glass structure in the world. But whilst parents admire the 16,000 panes of glass the tots explore the humid, lush, green interior – a space for real adventurers – and great for a rainy day too.
Creep downstairs to the Marine Aquarium where their wee eyes pop at the brightly lit tanks and subsea beasties. Four marine habitats have been created: coral reef; estuary and salt marsh; mangrove swamp; and rocky shoreline, all to educate and entertain.
Playgrounds
The cherry on the cake, the creme de la creme, are definitely THE PLAYGROUNDS!!!
Mr Toddler quite possibly wet himself when he saw them. Outdoors is the grandly titled Treehouse Towers – a tree themed outdoor play area where (apparently 300) little angels can climb, clamber, crawl and career. Then indoors is Climbers and Creepers – children take on the role of insects, climbing inside a plant to learn about pollination. Thrills come when they learn about the dangers insects face from carnivorous plants when they trap model flies with Venus fly traps or are themselves ‘eaten’ by a giant pitcher plant”.
Thought that has clearly gone into each and every piece of equipment. The focus is clearly on ‘education through fun’. For a location as iconic as Kew to be so wonderfully child friendly is to its merit. I have no photos of the play areas as, to their credit, they were absolutely swarming in happy children playing.
And if you really want to treat the kids then there’s an icecream kiosk cunningly situated next to the play park.
Practicalities and Logistics
Kew has a designated tube stop so public transport is on hand – click here for more info and other options. We had a hire car and found parking no problem (and free!) on nearby residential streets after midday – before noon parking permits were in force for residents only- and we accessed the park from Victoria Gate.
This page tells you the best gate to enter depending on your circumstances. Prices are here – I was the guest of my pal who has the Kew equivalent of a season ticket so I was very lucky to get in for free, tots under three are free too.
Getting to London – we flew with flybe (good kids’ baggage allowance) into London City, a delightfully small airport, and picked up a hire car there, a mere stone’s throw from the airport front door. When lugging children, buggies and luggage around small airports are definitely beautiful.
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Mrs Tubbs
Looks like you had fun. We love going to Kew
tots2travel
Is there anywhere else in London you’d recommend? We’ll be visiting more frequently from now on – with the tots in tow!
tots2travel
Is there anywhere else you’d recommend in London? We’ll be visiting more frequently from now on – with the tots in tow!
helenathingor2
Thanks for sharing this information! We’re going to visit London next year. Ken and the Royal Botanic Gardens will be on my list, for sure 🙂
tots2travel
Are you UK based or travelling far?
momwithf
You look you had a wonderful time there. It was a great post, thanks.
tots2travel
Thanks. Lots of room for five to run around too 🙂
Clare Thomson
It sounds like a brilliant day out! I haven’t been to Kew in years and had no idea it was so child-friendly. I’ll have to take my two. #citytripping
tots2travel
Good weather always helps too 🙂
tinyexpats
I love Kew Gardens! I’ve been thinking of when to take the kids there and you solved my problem 🙂 I obviously completely ignored playgrounds when I went there before – didn’t even remember that they were there 🙂 Now I know where we’re going on the next sunny weekend! #citytripping
tots2travel
Really good facilities – plus an icecream shop next to the playground – so enjoy yourself.
tinyexpats
Sounds great!
Nell@PigeonPairandMe.com
Kew is on the other side of London to us, so I’ve never taken the children there, but I’ll have to get round to it at some point. It looks great for kids, and I do love a bit of nature!
tots2travel
We were staying at the Elephant and Castle so I understand that the other side of London is bloody far away! I loved Burgess Park too which is totally off the tourist route but lovely for kids too. Not sure what part of London you’re in but so many options…
Herself
Been to Kew a few times with the kids and it is a great place with some lovely seasonal touches all year round (I liked the pumpkin displays in autumn). My son even got to have a school trip there and their educational programme was pretty fabulous too (I was a designated adult).
tots2travel
I liked the way education was wrapped up in fun in such a subtle way. Really clever.
And what a great school trip. Very lucky boy.
Wander Mum
I went to Kew for the first time last year with my daughter. It’s a huge place and we didn’t have time to explore the playground!! Oops…it sounds amazing!! Clearly another trip is in order! Thank you so much for linking up to #citytrippig
tots2travel
It is massive. One of my best friends from university lives nearby and guided me and my tribe around – she’s a regular! – without her I would never have found half the attractions.
Glad to finally link up. Kept meaning to but life kept getting in the way – and by life I mean small people.
Wander Mum
Haha – they have a habit of doing that! Great to have you linking up. Xx
MummyTravels
We live very close to Kew so have a pass for the year, and usually go quite regularly – as you say, there’s always something to see and do, or just acres to run around in if not. We hit a small snag last time as we were told the rules had changed and no scooters/balance bikes are allowed in, which makes it trickier with a preschooler who’s too old for a buggy but too big to be carried far when she gets tired… #citytripping
tots2travel
That’s a shame. We’re not close to that point yet but I can imagine it makes a huge difference. They must have had their reasons but I wonder why they did that as there are lots of paths for bikes/buggies/wheelchairs/scooters. My friend has the pass too and loves it, hope you can return soon without too many problems.
Rosie Hill (@EcoGitesLenault)
I visited Kew before we left to come and live in France with my, then, 4 and 5 year old boys who loved it – being a plant person so did I and I must try and get back one one of my slightly sporadic trips to the UK #citytripping
tots2travel
It’s ideal when a venue appeals to both parents and children. Good weather also helps.
JustGoPlaces (@justgo_places1)
I love Kew with the kids. We’ve got an annual pass. Their favourite is still the treetop walkway. I also like their Christmas sound and light show. visiting from #citytripping
tots2travel
It speaks volumes how many people have an annual pass – always something to do and something to see.