What to see in the London area?

[pehe]

Next week I am in the London area (Chelsea) attending an English course.
I have some spare time in the evening. Are there some interesting (horticultural) places worth visiting?

Poul from Denmark

[Margaret]

The Chelsea Physic Garden is the obvious place but the opening hours are a bit limited.  http://chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/visit/opening-times/

Kew Gardens close at 6.30 and it's a place that justifies a full day visit. Maybe you could manage it on another occasion.

[vivienr]

When I was in that area last year I had a nice walk in Holland Park. It has an interesting Japanese garden.

http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/leisureandlibraries/parksandgardens/yourlocalpark/hollandpark.aspx

It is open daily 'until 30 minutes before dusk'.

[brianw]

You may be limited to Parks etc. in evenings
http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington-gardens/about-kensington-gardens
see opening times at bottom. Many London squares have smaller gardens but access may be restricted to residents.
You could also go to New Covent Garden market from 4.00am in the morning if you can't sleep ;-)

[vivienr]

If you are feeling energetic there is also the Olympic Park. The website says the area is open 24 hours but you might want to check this, You can download a leaflet of walking trails and there is a journey planner to help you get there. I am planning to go here in 2 weeks when I have a few days in London(unless it continues to rain .

http://queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk/the-park/attractions/parklands

[pontus]

not really in London, but if you have time to take the train, Wisley botanical gardens are amazing, and when I used to live in the Uk they where one of my favourite places in the uk

Pontus

[Alan_b]

Wisley is a fantastic place to visit but it closes at 6pm and is four miles from the nearest rail station (see http://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/plan-your-visit/how-to-get-here ).  Kew Gardens is much more accessible.

This is probably too late for your visit but many of London's garden squares are open to the public on the weekend of 14th & 15th June http://www.opensquares.org/ .  Visiting gardens that are open for charity can be interesting and you might find a few evening openings although most open on a Sunday.  See http://www.ngs.org.uk/gardens/find-a-garden.aspx

[pehe]

Thank you all for your suggestions, I will certainly visit one or two of the places.

Poul

[Alan_b]

I am curious to know what happened.  Which gardens did you visit, Poul, and what did you think of them?

[pehe]

Alan, Sunday afternoon I spent almost 5 hours in Kew garden. I was very impressed of the size of the garden and the great numbers of rare plants. Of course I spent much of the time in the rock garden, but also the woodland beds paid my attention. I also enjoyed a walk through the Rhododendron 'forest' where some of the old plants in fact was rather large trees.
It was certainly worth the entrance fee, and I would love to come back in the autumn (and spring too )

Poul

[Anthony Darby]

You have to pay to get into Kew Gardens?

[Alan_b]

A regular adult ticket to Kew is £15, Anthony.  There is a 2-for-1 offer if you can present a national rail train ticket or, I think, a travelcard bought at a rail station.