Photos by H: New Year's Eve - final trip of 2025 to Kew

It was a bitterly cold morning with frost so I made sure I wasn't as early as usual..The sun helped warm things up though.

the pond at the Palm House was partly frozen

so I walked across there first

you can see where the water starts to freeze

I walked back round to the front of the pond

and doubled back on myself past the entrance and headed down to the lake

lots of shadows over the frosty grass

it was very cold but I was hoping walking would warm me up soon.

the sky was nice and blue though

at the lake.

the water was partly frozen, but it was very thin ice and geese were able to swim through it easily

the sun shining on the surface

I had messaged Kim as I thought she may be here today but she was waiting for a delivery

without any food for the birds I didn't sit at the lake but kept going

and headed across a very slippy crossing - the sun was melting the frost

gulls were walking over the lake

as I took this, I noticed what looked like the heron on the side by the bench

so walked along the bank on my side and changed lens - he must have been stood there whilst I was at the bench, out of sight.

I carried on towards the Treetop Walkway - and the lift was still working, so I went up

someone had written a message in the frost

it was glistening in the sun - the right hand side of the walkway was already mostly cleared of frost, the left more out of the sun, was left

I was squinting in the sun, my sunglasses meant it was hard to see what I was capturing in the lens

the cold air with the melting frost seemed to make it misty.

and there were lots of patterns/shadows

I got back to the lift to find a large gull on the post

back on the ground

I carried along Holly Walk - this tree is one of the huge trees covered in lights for the Christmas trail - you might be able to see the wires coiled round the trunk

I changed lens to get the whole tree in

berries

the Pagoda

Japanese Gateway garden

frosty iris along the path by the Japanese garden

whilst walking along to the garden I had heard a helicopter overhead but hadn't been able to see it, for the sun. Now I could see it circling and then hovering off to the right. It waited for a while, then moved off. I couldn't really see but i think it was a police helicopter.

I cut across the grass away towards the Temperate House

and inside, in the warm - although it's not a heated glasshouse, it was welcome after the cold outside.

there were a few flowers

and some colourful leaves on palms

looking through the roof

statue at the end of a path

the planting spilling onto the path in front of it caught my eye

oranges growing in a tub

and kumquats

back outside and took the path to the winter garden

trying to catch the hellebores is tricky as they face down

frosty euphorbia melting now

at the top of the path round the winter garden, witch hazel in the sun

another patch of hellebore,

I tried to hold the bloom in one hand and take the photo with the other - it was a struggle balancing the camera

as I walked further along the path through the winter garden, a fox ran in front of me and across Camellia Walk

before emerging from the bushes again and crossing the path back through the Christmas trees on the trail.

I also saw a second one further along Camellia Walk but too far away to photograph.

Sacred Bamboo - a yellow variety (there is a red one close by and another one in the Evolution Garden)

I carried on past the pond for a 3rd time

with the macro 105m lens on for some nearer shots

and down part of the Broad Walk to see if anything was still covered in frost

the hellebores had a little frost left

and the euphorbias

I turned and headed back to the cafe - it was 11.30 ish and I was hungry

couldn't resist the dogwoods again though

as I reached the far side of the bridge - which was no longer covered in frost - I remembered the ultra wide angle lens I'd packed for this very purpose

so changed lens

I headed into the cafe at the Victoria Gate

I had a sausage roll with my hot chocolate - it wasn't a success, normally they are lovely, but the girl forgot to put it in the oven and when I asked where it was, she didn't heat it for long so it was partly cold. I couldn't be bothered to pack up all my stuff and take it back to the counter to complain so ate the hot bit !