Hampton Court
Hampton Court Gardens - the golden gates leading down to the waterways.
Hampton Court formal gardens
The roses at Hampton Court were superb

Hampton Court from the side of the Great Vine.
The most glorious specimen standard rose

Is this a tudor rose? - a beautiful small rose shrub.		 Hampton Court gardens were delightful in the formal setting and the informality of the splendid rose gardens. So many things to catch my attention - and especially the maze -not so easy to navigate.
Disappointment was the interior, the grandeur of which was spoilt by the dining table arrangements being set up in many rooms (a corporate banquet was to be held in conjunction with a music festival). This intrusion of modern day detracted from the ageless beauty of the architecture and fittings.
So the gardens became the focus of the day- and how wonderful they were.

  
Kew Gardens 
The Palm House, lake and fountains , home to myriads of water birds.
Aerial view of the Palm House detailing the formal garden setting.

The Pagoda at Kew. I remember reading about this building when I was a child.I was fascinated by the isea of a Chinese building in an English park.  Leading to the Pagoda are beautiful avenues of trees, and the vista of the pagoda  among the trees is superb.
Beautiful Japanese gardens contrast with the formality of the English gardens.
The Japanese temple above the typical Japanese gardens.
Kew - what a great way to spend a day.  We loved the acres of greenery, the palm houses where we recognised many tropical plants - and what a huge strelitzia . We loved the formal gardens, the huge grass expanses and the contrast of the African Sculptures Exhibition. We were impressed with the areaas being rehabilitated back to typical English countryside roadside verges (with poppies and cornflowers and native grasses). And it all seemed so graffiti free.  Take the train ride at the beginning of the day so you have an overall idea of what is around.
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