Kew & Brentford Walking Tour

Highlights: Contrast sedate Kew and post-industrial Brentford on this interest-packed guided walking tour of extraordinary variety and history. Criss-cross rivers, locks, canals and creeks.  Discover where Julius Caesar may have forded the Thames in 54 BC and where a pitched battle was fought during the English Civil War.

Our walk starts at Kew, the retreat of Hanoverian royalty and the world famous botanic gardens.  From Queen Anne’s ‘little church’ on Kew Green, we pass imposing Georgian houses and cross Kew Bridge to uncover the unique character of Brentford, a town with a gritty industrial past, now experiencing rapid regeneration and gentrification. We explore wharfs, locks and historic boatyards and see where the Grand Union Canal enters the Thames and where Brunel built his dock. We visit a hidden gem of an eighteenth century square and finish by a pub on a backwater, where landscape painter JMW Turner once lived with his uncle.

Duration & Distance:  Approx 2.5 hours. Distance 2.25 miles ( 4.02 kilometres)

There are trains to Kew Bridge station from London Waterloo, and London Underground to Kew Gardens (District Line).  Bus routes 65 & 391. Paid parking is available at Kew Gardens and in Brentford.

Mostly paved paths and tracks.  There are several flights of steps along the way.

What to bring: Walking shoes are recommended. You may wish to bring a light rucksack to carry drinking water and clothing according to the weather forecast.