A Foggy trip to Kew

 I woke to fog and frost this morning - and was hoping that it would linger till I got to Kew for some cracking photos..

For a change, the trains on both legs of my journey were running and as I crossed Kew Bridge on my way to the entrance, I paused for a foggy view..

this is the one from the phone as the camera struggled to focus on images in the fog!

the frost had just about gone though just leaving dampness 

now that the Christmas at Kew event has finished, and the lights dismantled, the fountain was back on

and it was interesting to see how there were still great reflections, despite there being no sun

as I'd forgotten to visit the witch hazels last week I headed for them first after my opening shot

they looked good

when taking the close ups I noticed that lots of the flowers had threads running between them, with little beads of melting frost 

which were very hard to photograph!  

then I headed for the Temperate House

there were new palm fronds unfurling

I love the deep colour of the stems

the flowers on the silver daisy bush are slowly opening -  fabulous!

as I walked round the outer paths of the TH I had noticed that the "down" staircase no longer had a barriers barring access  and sure enough when I got to the other corner, and the "up" stairs, I was able to get up to the walkway and walk round -

for the first time in 2 years!  

it was so good to be able to see the plants from above again after such a long time,  I am guessing that they've decided that although the path round is narrow, the "danger" has reduced to a level that means we can access the walkway again

these are the gorgeous white flowers I shared last week from ground level, this time from up high!

as I walked round I came to a sign that shows the layout and different zones across the whole of the TH.  Useful.  You should be able to enlarge it to see it clearer.  

this huge yellow beauty (label is too far away to see from ground level) always looks better from halfway down the staircase, as from the path at ground level you don't get the effect of the flowers so well.

and this was along side it

then it was through into the next section and my favourite!

there weren't many people inside yet so took a  long view back from the doorway 

outside  I headed for the lake via paths rather than muddy wet grass (part of the way)

there were lots of buds 

and frost drops on branches

the fog in the background made it very hard to focus

but I love this one, with the mass of drops on the stems and the out of focus drops in the foreground

however I soon decided to take a short cut along Cedar Vista to the lake - it was very muddy and slippy underfoot but I managed not to end up on my bum in the mud!

the hydrangeas are just seedheads but they look amazingly structural 

at the  little pond there were lots of grasses

at the edge of the far end of the lake, the acer Winter Gold, was truly gold - even in grey light

you can see how it got it's name, the trunk and branches are beautiful 

it was still quite foggy on the lake, it's lies quite low

again, I was surprised and delighted by the reflections

I had taken the globe lens today and decided it might be quite effective here 

wider view so you can see what the globe is looking at too

more reflections

as i walked round the lake I was looking at the gulls and realised that the lake was partly frozen because they were walking on it not swimming!

as I got to the crossing there was a large group and you could see that easier

all of a sudden they took to the air

I quickly took a series of shots

till they came down to settle on the surface.

as I came off the crossing and to the path away, there was a flapping of wings above me and 3 geese came down to land - I wasn't quick enough to get them in flight

I didn't climb the Treetop Walkway, although there were people up there

I took the other path towards the Mediterranean Garden and was struck by this huge tree with still bright green leaves

I squelched through the mud to the trunk to seethe name -

Mississippi Hackway.

the green "fence" is left over from Christmas - the bare patch just behind the fence is where the baubled Christmas Tree was 

I took a quick trip up the path to the witch hazels again - now that it was a tiny bit brighter....

there were still frost drops left 

they just look so gorgeous.

my nose was running in the cold air and I forgot to have a good sniff at them, they normally smell so wonderful - the day was too cold for the fragrance to permeate the air

the hellebores just round the corner to the witch hazel are starting to flower more now

from there it is but a short hop to the Palm House  - the fog was lifting a little and really just lingering as low cloud.

I headed for food and drink!

hot chocolate and again and a hot, pork and cranberry sausage roll.   plenty of well spaced tables to eat inside (luckily!)  

after I'd eaten (and had a good look round the gift shop - was very tempted by some new items - a range of tableware, I nearly got a lovely plate and bowl,  maybe next time....)  

I headed round the pond  

look at those reflections!  

I took a few from different angles walking round the pond

pausing at a tub of little heathers in front of the restaurant

as I walked past the face sculpture I noticed a frost drop on one of the leaf shapes

the Princess of  Wales conservatory is closed now until the Orchid display opens at the start of February - normally you can walk round whilst they start to install it, getting sneak previews  but presumably for covid-social distancing reasons they've decided to close for the installation.

a lot of the work is done by volunteers so I guess they have to keep them safe

so I walked straight past to the Evolution Garden

the teasels are magnificent

 I noticed that someone had given  the statue something to hold!

one of the heads from the globe thistle.

so funny!

more hellebores

in the rock garden, the snowdrops are still beautiful

then walked through the alpine house

just inside the doorway, the miniature narcissus.

so delicate!

the gorgeous anemone - not quite as brilliant without the sun but nevertheless lovely

these are tiny

in the sheltered bed outside the other end of the Princess of Wales conservatory.

through this door I could see some of the volunteers working on tables of orchids inside but not well enough to get photos.

the theme this year, is orchids of Costa Rica

it was time to head for home so I went to the top of the Broad Walk 

stopping to admire the pink hellebores

and the euphorbia

a lot of the beds have been cut hard back to prepare for spring growth so there wasn't a huge amount to look at

so I walked to the station - where to my annoyance the next train was cancelled,so I came back out and across the road to get the bus home after all.

of course I just missed a bus, but as I stood at the stop on the bridge I noticed to my left a huge flock of gulls, seagulls mostly (someone down on the river bank was feeding them)

where I quickly took a few final photos 

before (luckily quite soon) a bus came along.

thanks for looking - another great trip even in the cold fog.

Wonder what the weather will be like next week!!