点评:Our first visit to Kew Gardens and I am honestly enchanted by it. There’s so much that we couldn’t do it all in a day. There was plenty to encourage kids ncluding a Tom Gates trail and a really lovely play area with something for all age groups. We’ll be back.
No queues on entry and as there are several gates the crowds are spread out nicely. Car parking is weird - the ‘official’ car park is a dirt track to an unmarked gravel pitch, with no signage to tell you how to get back to the entrance and no staff to guide you. A lot of people wandering around trying to work out if they had the right place.
The planting, the palace, the lake - it all makes for spectacular scenery and there’s hidden steps and shady nooks everywhere to give the sense of discovery. The palace had an air of sadness about it, with the tale of King George suffering with his illness, while Queen Charlotte and their daughters were shut away upstairs. The Henry Moore trail was really good. The huge ornate Edwardian Glasshouses with their vine draped spiral staircases look like something from a fairy tale.
Take all the food and drink you’ll need for the day with you. I can’t stress this enough. We had a picnic with us but tried to buy a coffee. They weren’t remotely busy in The Orangery (it had just opened) but the inexperienced and miserable staff wouldn’t write down the orders and got our drinks wrong FOUR times with a 20 minute wait and zero attention to what they were doing. People in the queue behind us gave up and left. Coffee was £4.95 and really wasn’t worth it.
All the cafes and restaurants seemed mis-managed rather than understaffed. It was a weekend at the height of the summer holidays, but most of the counters and tills weren’t even open and the staff were confused and not being directed.
The lovely and efficient girl doing the ice cream stand was stood burning in over 30° with absolutely no shade, not even a hat (where was the Health And Safety At Work Act!) as she tried to shovel the rapidly melting ice cream alone. We couldn’t get through the door of the shop to buy a souvenir, it was too crowded.
To sum up, the gardens are beyond wonderful and well worth a full day. They felt spacious and special. Toilet facilities were well placed and plentiful. It’s a million times better than the Eden project,
0 stars for the cafes and shop, but a heartfelt 5 stars for the delightful gardens.
翻译:我们第一次造访邱园,说实话,我完全被它迷住了。有太多可看可玩的内容了,一天时间根本不够用。这里有很多适合孩子们参与的活动,比如“汤姆·盖茨探险路线”,还有一个非常棒的游乐区,各种年龄段的孩子都能找到乐趣。我们一定会再来的。
入园时无需排队,而且由于有多个入口,游客们也分散得恰到好处。停车情况则有点奇怪——“官方”停车场其实只是一条通往一片无标志碎石地的土路罢了。没有任何指示牌告诉你如何回到入口处,也没有工作人员为你指引方向。很多人都在四处徘徊,试图确认自己是否找对了地方。
园林景观、宫殿和湖泊共同构成了极为壮丽的景致;到处都有隐蔽的台阶和阴凉的角落,给人一种探索的乐趣。这座宫殿笼罩着一丝忧伤的氛围——乔治国王深受病痛折磨,而夏洛特王后和他们的女儿们则被关在楼上。亨利·摩尔步道真的很不错。那些巨大而装饰华丽的爱德华风格温室,加上爬满藤蔓的螺旋形楼梯,看上去就像童话世界里的场景。
一定要带上当天所需的所有食物和饮料。这一点我再怎么强调都不为过。我们虽然带了野餐食物,但还是试图去买杯咖啡。在“The Orangery”里根本没人忙碌(这家店才刚开业不久),但那些缺乏经验又愁眉苦脸的员工既不记录点单信息,还把我们的饮品点错了四次。我们足足等了20分钟,而他们完全心不在焉。排在我们后面的顾客都不耐烦地离开了。咖啡卖4.95英镑一杯,实在不值这个价。
所有咖啡馆和餐厅似乎都存在管理不善的问题,而不仅仅是人手不足。当时正值暑假周末。不过大多数售货台和收银处甚至都没开放,工作人员也茫然无措、无人指挥。
那位负责冰淇淋摊位的女孩既可爱又能干,可她却站在30多度的高温下,周围完全没有遮阳物,甚至连帽子都没戴(《职业健康与安全法》都去哪儿了!)。她独自一人费力地把迅速融化的冰淇淋装进容器中。由于人多得挤不进去,我们甚至没法进店买个纪念品。
总而言之,花园美得令人惊叹,绝对值得花一整天时间来游览。那里给人宽敞且特别的感觉。洗手间的位置合理且数量充足。这里比伊甸园项目好上千万倍。咖啡馆和商店只能给0星评价,但这些宜人可爱的花园则值得满分5星!