The Most Inspirational Place I Have Visited Lately

Ever since I moved to London over four years ago, I've been entertaining the idea of visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens in West London known as Kew Gardens. How foolish I was to have waited this long and to essentially have robbed myself of experiencing the magnificence of Kew for the past few years. 

After barely even going through the entrance gate I had already decided that I needed an annual pass. I spend five hours on the garden grounds and probably saw just about half of it. I didn't really take the time to sit down even though there was a large selection of wooden benches to choose from, all dedicated to someone loved or lost: "To Margaret - she was a brave lady". If ever anyone was to dedicate a bench in memory of me, I hope they do not dare to come up with something as dull as that (sorry, Margaret). 

Anyway, I couldn't afford to sit down, since behind every hedge there was another garden lovelier than the previous one. Hidden fountains, little dwellings tucked away and palm houses, green houses and conservatories everywhere. I'd like to show you some of the highlights so that when you visit London, Kew Gardens will be on your list. Or if you happen to live in London as well, you'll go visit if you haven't or again if you have.

First stop: my new favourite place, Waterlily House. It's a greenhouse with a pond containing water lilies as you might have guessed. It does take some effort to stay inside for longer than two seconds as it is almost unbearably hot and humid inside. If you've got a little bit more stamina than the average person, you'll be able to have the place to yourself for a few moments as most people do an accelerated walk around the pond before leaving. You can then peacefully take pictures without ugly orange shirts and horrendous sun hats in the background. If at any point during this article you start to wonder if I was the only person visiting Kew Gardens yesterday - I wasn't. I just don't like people in my pictures and will wait patiently (more or less) to get a clear shot.

Next stop: The Hive. Designed by artist Wolfgang Buttress and inspired by scientific research you step "(...) inside the extraordinary life of bees with an inspiring and multisensory journey into The Hive (...)" as the brochure explains. Basically you get an idea of hive-like activity by audio reminiscent of bee sounds and the LED lights inside the Hive mimicking the communication between bees. Interesting indeed. It's get even more interesting underneath the Hive where visitors are invited to bite down on a wooden stick that is pressed in a slot emitting vibrations. By covering your ears, you can actually hear the audio presentation. Instead of listening to a boring old audio guide, you get to experience what it's like to be a bee for a bit!

After playing bees, we continue on to the Treetop Walkway where you can now pretend to be a monkey. An architecturally interesting walkway leads you through a range of treetops and would have given a lovely view over Temperate House (another conservatory) if it wasn't being restored. Breathing in the canopy air and listening to the rustling of the leaves is a nice little treat if you are ok with heights.

Coming back down to earth, there are loads more places to see that unfortunately I did not get to. On my list still are the Wildlife Observation Centre, the Bamboo Garden and the Treehouse Towers. Looking forward to my next visit already!