Kew Gardens

Time Out says

Fri Apr 4 2008

A magnificent World Heritage Site covering 300 acres with over 30,000 species of plants; plus the tropical Palm House, the Temperate House and the Princess of Wales conservatory. The most recent glasshouse, the energy-efficient Davies Alpine House designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, is located at the north end of the rock garden. The Evolution House contains a permanent exhibition telling the story of the development of plant life. A few of the specimens are represented by models but Kew is able to represent many examples of primitive plants – from liverworts to cycads – from its own living collections. Families with younger children will get a kick out of the human-scale badger sett, the fish in the Marine Display aquarium downstairs in the Palm House and the Climbers and Creepers indoor play area for accompanied three-to-nine year-olds (sessions, bookable on arrival, last 20 mins). The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art is a new, permanent gallery whose inaugural programme features a range of botanical art from the Kew and Sherwood collections. Kew's newest attraction is the Xstrata Treetop Walkway, designed by Marks Barfield Architects, the architects of the London Eye. Eighteen metres up in the air and 200 metres long, it provides a fresh perspective on the sweet chestnuts, limes, deciduous oaks and other trees of Capability Brown's woodland. At its foot is the Rhizotron underground exhibition space dedicated to themes associated with tree root biology and climate change.