Kew Gardens

13 05 11 14:35
London is a big, busy, densely populated city. It is the kind of place that needs some dedicated open spaces where one can get away from the ever-present big city. I remember three such places from my childhood days that became getaways for a day, sometimes as a family outing, sometimes just Dad and the boys. I don’t expect to revisit Hampstead Heath or Stanmore Common on this trip, but we did head out to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. At over 300 acres, this World Heritage site is one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive botanical gardens. Some of the places I revisit on this trip seem to have shrunk with time; there is no such illusion with Kew Gardens.
The place is huge. I used to think I had a good sense of direction, but it was easy to become disoriented walking around the place. I don’t remember planes flying overhead from my childhood visits, but the jets on approach to London’s Heathrow airport did help me to figure out what direction we were going - though there was one time that I commented that Heathrow seemed to have moved their runway.

Though there was less in bloom than we expected for May, the gardens were gorgeous. I did discover that I had brought away one unfortunate souvenir: a poison oak-type rash on my ankles. The possible culprit is a critter called the Oak Processionary Moth; the hairs of its caterpillar commonly cause an allergic reaction. I guess we were a bit early; they will be spraying for the thing next week.
Happy

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