Bushy and Hampton Court Parks, and Palace Gardens

This is almost a repeat of my February 2023 walk, but with the addition of entry to Hampton Court Palace Gardens which has free entry on the day of the walk until 530pm (last admission 430pm).

Note that you won’t have time to enter the Palace, but you could visit by yourself at the end of the walk (with entry charges) the Maze and Magic Garden.

We are likely to encounter deer, runners and a few tourists on this walk through the surprisingly wild but accessible parks at Bushy and Hampton Court with their royal history, including that of another King Charles. Despite being so close to London, this will be a mix of picturesque parkland and easy walking.

The walk ends at Hampton Court Palace, with options for the gardens, then pub (Prince of Wales  https://www.princeofwaleskt8.co.uk) afterwards. The station is 5 minutes from all of these. 

The sights

Bushy Park: London’s second largest park (over 1000 acres) includes red and fallow deer, waterways from Tudor times which fed the canals and fountains of Hampton Court (which we’ll see from a distance) and the stately Chestnut Avenue designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The most notable features of the park include the Diana Fountain with statue designed as a gift from Charles I to Henrietta Maria, part of the Longford River (an 12 mile artificial canal) and the more genteel Woodland and Water Gardens, which were restored at a cost of around £7m.

Hampton Court Home Park: veteran trees, lime tree avenues and roaming deer mark this often overlooked park enclosed by Cardinal Wolsey and the site of Henry VIII’s hunts. The Long Water was built for Charles II and Catherine of Braganza in 1660 and affords a Versailles-like view of the Palace, linked to the water features in Bushy Park. Boats in the shape of swans greeted the Queen and the park is home to the famous Flower Show in summer, but we’re more likely to encounter a few balls as we skirt the golf course.

Thames Path: 184 miles long, we’ll sample a short stretch at the bend of the river on the north bank of the Thames away from Hampton Wick/Kingston, opposite Thames Ditton’s pubs to Hampton Court.

Hampton Court Palace: Unlike all of Henry VIII’s six wives, we won’t visit today but we’ll see the baroque facade built by Sir Christopher Wren for William III and Mary I, and the ornate chimneys and red brick gatehouse leading to Henry VIII’s Tudor palace. We’ll also be afforded a close up view of Jean Tijou’s ornate iron screens on the walk.

The Gardens will be open free of charge on the day of the walk. More information here: https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/whats-on/hampton-court-gard…

Dogs

I love having dogs on my walks and the main walk (but NOT the gardens where they are not allowed entry) is ideal for them, although both parks have deer and there will be a couple of short stretches on roads to walk along with plenty of traffic. Therefore, I recommend dogs are kept on their leads. 

Please note that as dogs are NOT allowed in the Woodland Gardens (Bushy Park), I will provide an alternative route if we have dog walkers on the day. You won’t miss much as the visit to the Gardens is only 10/15 minutes. There is outdoor seating and a servery for dog walkers by the car park for the Pheasantry Cafe (rather than within the cafe and its immediate surrounding area within the Woodland Gardens).

PLEASE NOTE DOGS ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE PALACE GARDENS, so you will need to miss that optional section at the end of the main walk. 

Toilets

At start: Station toilets (now verified in person!), Early lunch: Pheasantry Cafe. End: within optional Hampton Court Palace Gardens and Prince of Wales pub. 

The route 

Click the link https://explore.osmaps.com/route/15616935/hampton-court-bushy-park-and-… to see it on the Ordnance Survey website

From Hampton Court station, we’ll go north over the bridge passing the Tudor facade of the Palace and entering Bushy Park. In the Park, we will see the Diana Fountain, cross the Chestnut Avenue and enter the Woodland Gardens going west, following the Longford River and parkland north to the Water Gardens. We’ll then loop back southeast for an early lunch near the Pheasantry Cafe. 

After lunch, we’ll continue east through the parkland and exit Bushy Park with a short interlude crossing over at Hampton Wick into Home Park. In Home Park, we will track southwards through the flat parkland with a view over the Long Water canal before joining the Thames Path.

The Thames Path will lead us back to Hampton Court Palace and over the bridge where there we can then visit the Gardens (option), and about 45 minutes later option for the Prince of Wales pub  https://www.princeofwaleskt8.co.uk - all of these are 5/10 minutes from the station. 

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(All images were taken by Alex Young in 2021 to 2023).