Spent many hours in Kew Gardens on a lovely sunny day, enjoying the vast spaces, huge trees, pretty flowers & interesting glasshouses. Strangely the gardens are directly under a flight path to Heathrow & the planes pass overhead very low every couple of minutes! I wonder how that affects the plants? We were surprised that the lawns look much like ours at home in the summer - not lush & green but fairly sparse with brown patches & lots of dandelions! The Hive sculpture is very intriguing - beautiful to look at & surrounded by a wildflower meadow for the bees to feast on. There is scientific research going on here too in the hope of reversing the decline of bee populations.
We made our way back to Westminster by riverboat down the Thames - a trip that took about 90 minutes. We had some good company, chatting with a delightful American couple as we admired the riverside pubs, old buildings, Fulham Football Club, Battersea Power Station & many modern apartment buildings.
Dinner in a tiny groovy restaurant called Polpo in Maiden Lane then to the theatre to see Hobson's Choice - a comedy starring Martin Shaw & Christopher Timothy (James Herriot). We've always tried to see a show or two when we're in the West End as there's such an amazing choice of plays & musicals here compared to home.