Sometimes you just want to go for a nice walk, nothing too taxing, a bit of a stroll, lots to see, great views, plenty of variety, close to public transport, multiple refreshment opportunities, won't take long. So here's a gentle two mile walk round Kew, nowhere near enough to make a day of it but a nice walk all the same.
The Kew Walk has been devised by the Kew Society and was launched last month. Their aim was to encourage people to explore the local area, discover lesser-known places of historic interest and get a bit of exercise. It ticks all three boxes. You'll need a map, indeed it was picking up a full colour fold-out map leaflet at Kew Gardens station which inspired me to do the walk. But safest to download the leaflet before you turn up in case they're out of stock, which they were when I went back this week.
The walk starts at Kew Gardens station, on the western side where all the shops are. They call this area Kew Village, even though it's not the original Kew village which we'll get to later. Kew Bookshop is another place where the map leaflet can be picked up (from a rack by the till) assuming they haven't run out too (which again they had). Before setting off you could buy a nice paperback or grab a "championship winning" pork pie from Pethers the quality butchers or take a seat outside one of the many cafes, but spending the next hour browsing and grazing would be a waste. The whole point of the Kew Circular Walk is to get out and explore, so let's go. KewNugget: The artificial fibre viscose was developed here in Kew, in a workshop down an alley beside the butchers.
Lichfield Road is lined by desirable villas and littered with horse chestnut leaves, at least at present. It's also the direct route between the station and Kew Gardens so its narrow pavements can get congested with tourists, pensioners and other horticultural types. At the main gate they go inside to look at plants and we turn right up Kew Road. A long brick wall successfully shields the contents of Kew Gardens from view, save for the odd tree and the Campanile tower built by Decimus Burton. Look out for the fingerposts showing distances to other local attractions (River Thames 0.58m 0.9km) with peculiar accuracy. For those already in need of refreshment The Original Maids of Honour is perhaps London's ultimate tearoom, a historic business whose unique selling point is that only they know the recipe for Henry VIII's favourite curd pastry tarts. KewNugget: The main gate into Kew Gardens is called Victoria Gate because it was opened on Queen Victoria's 70th birthday.
We've now reached the real Kew village, which is closer to the river and based around the impressively large Kew Green. This used to be close enough to Richmond Palace that several courtiers made their homes here and far enough from Westminster that George III made it his principal country retreat. This helps explain the motley assortment of 18th century homes and cottages around the perimeter, which make quite the backdrop if you're ever here playing cricket. There are also four fine pubs - The Botanist, Coach & Horses, Cricketers and Greyhound - should you be flagging on your walk and already in need of refreshment. What you don't read about Kew Green in your leaflet you can read about on multiple information boards because the Kew Society are nothing but thorough. KewNugget: Blue plaques around Kew Green include Hookers and Pissarro (that's botanists and a French artist, not anything dodgy).
The church in the middle of the Green is St Anne's and was, perhaps not uncoincidentally, paid for by Queen Anne. Thomas Gainsborough's grave is outside in the raised graveyard, halfway down the southern side surrounded by ironwork. I got lucky and was able to take a look inside the church, scrutinising a few funerary monuments and gold topped pillars before the keyholder apologised for chucking me out. I can confirm that there's a stack of map leaflets on the back table (alongside the postcards and the full colour guidebooks) but that's no use to you if the door's locked. At the far side of the Green is the Elizabeth Gate, the entrance to Kew Gardens favoured by coach parties, plus an impressively traditional snackvan that'll do you a cheap gloopy cheeseburger. KewNugget: The ULEZ boundary divides Kew Green in two, so the better air quality should be in the eastern half.
Keep walking round the green until you reach the pond. Parking here is at an absolute premium, but that's the peril of buying an expensive house in a historic conservation area. I'd never spotted the alleyway down the side of number 66 before, so was surprised to find a small white and blue cottage of the type you'd more normally find at the seaside. It turns out Kew's fishermen used to spread their nets just across the alley on Westerley Ware, because the Circular Walk is a learning walk. This brings us to the Thames, just downstream of Kew Bridge, for a brief but pleasant riverside stroll. Don't expect to see the bridge unless it's a month with fewer leaves. KewNugget: The eyot midstream is Oliver's Island, named after Cromwell. It used to have a tollbooth for levying passing boats.
The Thames Path is usually busy, in this case with dogs being walked, joggers and cyclists. My attention was particularly drawn by the heron in the mud, and also by a group of boys being given a rowing lesson through a megaphone. The instructor droned on and on about half slides and diagonal planes, as if re-emphasising that he was the expert, before calling out "Hugo and Felix, when you're ready!" and off they sculled. The Kew Circular only follows the river as far as the next bridge, then heads inland between the District line and a nature reserve to the fabulously brutalist concrete fortress that houses The National Archives. KewNugget: The nature reserve is home to the rare two-lipped door snail, not that you can get in to check.
You could sit out in the park and watch the swans on the lake but, so long as it's not Sunday or Monday, it's more interesting to go inside. The cafe is huge and managed by the same folk who run The Maids of Honour, and at lunchtimes is absolutely teeming with researchers. You could pause here for a Joan Sims smoothie (strawberry + banana) or, if you arrive after November 5th, look round the new Treason exhibition instead. The walk continues past the site of a wartime aircraft factory, although it's now Kew Retail Park so barely worth the detour, and concludes by returning to the station. I recommend taking the classic concrete footbridge rather than the subway. KewNugget: The bridge has unusually high sides to protect pedestrians from steam, as the plaque on the side explains.
Now might be the time for that pork pie and/or a pint at the Tap On The Line, assuming you haven't overfilled yourself at all the other refreshment stops along the way. Or you might well have a better idea where to head because the circular walk will have opened your eyes to several alternatives. Right on Kew.
