Spring is here! …more or less. The brightening days herald the end of a dismal winter, giving us all a spark of hope as we inch ever-closer to a summer of barbecues and weekend breaks. Spring is when places well and truly come to life – the same of which can absolutely be said of our shining capital London. But how can you make the most of our capital in this, the season of new life?
How to Enjoy the Spring in London
Kew Gardens
Where better to ring in the new season than the botanist’s delight, Kew Gardens? This glorious expanse of natural beauty is perhaps best-known for being home to a wide collection of exotic plants, in the Tropical Herbaceous Collection. The garden centre displays and smells in this collection are quite simply inimitable.
Kew is much more than its tropical section, though. Its 500 or so acres include dense woodland, lily ponds and a wild botanic garden – all of which can be explored at your (relative) leisure. This is an iconic spring day out.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show
If Kew Gardens doesn’t quite cut it for you, there is another mecca for the horticulturalists among us to look forward to: the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. It is one of the most popular gardening events of the year, and a stunning opportunity to explore the fruits of green-fingered professionals and landscape auteurs.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a hugely well-subscribed event, welcoming over 150,000 visitors each year. As such, you might want to plan your visit carefully! But what if you want something a little more… energising?
A High-Speed Thames Cruise
Pierce Brosnan’s turn as martini-sipping spy James Bond may only just be entering the ‘nostalgia’ phase, but the set-pieces from his four-film stint are nonetheless highly regarded – and one might well be the way you spend a spring afternoon on the Thames!
The opening sequence of Tomorrow Never Dies may not be a completely accurate reflection of the Thamesjet experience, but you certainly aren’t going to get much closer! Thamesjet is the perfect diversion for a spring afternoon, being a high-octane 50-minute tour of London from the surface of the water. The whole thing kicks off at Westminster Pier; if you’re arriving into London via London Bridge train station, you’re a mere three tube stops away.
Holland Park
After all of that adrenaline, you’ll need somewhere sedate to calm down and cool off. Holland Park is one of the best places to visit in London, being a beautiful tract of Kensington land with all manner of natural delights. The Dutch Garden is naturally where it’s at during the spring, with all the tulips and daffodils in full and moving bloom.
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