After the hottest day of the year (so far), I was glad it was a lot cooler for my walk. Nine of us met at Hampton Court station after receiving a packet of wildflower seeds from South Western Railway as we exited the platform. It was the week of the Hampton Court RHS Flower Show and the Palace gardens were open free of charge. We enjoyed the rose garden and the vegetable garden and had a quick look at the royal tennis court before going into the beautiful formal gardens. We passed the privy garden, the knot garden, the pond gardens and admired the great vine which holds the Guinness World Record for being the largest vine. Grapes can be purchased in September. 

We stopped at the plant shop so that two members of our party could buy chard and beetroot which they had to carry for the rest of the walk. Half the party ate their picnic in the vegetable garden while the rest ate in the nice Lion Gate Cafe. Then we entered Bushy Park and admired the Diana Fountain which had been cleaned recently. After passing a couple of ponds and seeing a family of deer, we followed the Langford River into the lovely Pheasantry Woodland Garden. The sun had come out and it was nice to be in the shade. We then went into the Waterhouse Woodland Garden, another pleasant garden with interesting plants. We came out of the woodland, crossed Cobblers Walk and entered the Park. We saw a buck with magnificent antlers eating along the path and not bothered by our presence. After a while, we reached the Water Gardens and its seven steps cascade and exited Bushy Park. We only waited a couple of minutes for the bus taking us back to Hampton Court and the train was at the station when we arrived. Altogether a very nice day, if I can say so myself!

The Hampton Court Palace Gardens are open free of charge on the following dates:

13 September to 14 September
18 October to 19 October
22 November to 23 November
26 December (wilderness garden only)

Dom