Press Release
New Views of Kew
– Summer Festival 2004
29 May - 26 September 2004
For immediate release
See Kew Gardens as you’ve never seen them before! This year’s
vibrant summer festival offers many and varied perspectives on the much
loved London attraction and World Heritage Site. Visitors can witness
spectacular and unexpected views of Kew to enhance the summertime -
all free with admission.
Brand New Views - the hugely popular Treetop
Walkway high up in the magnificent redwoods and oaks reopens
this year with a new high tower and longer path taking visitors right
up into the tree canopy. Cunningly concealed cameras along the walkway
trained on different aspects of the Gardens provide a Bird’s
Eye View to visitors at the bottom. See the High Kew
view from the top of the pagoda: a camera mounted 50 metres high at
the top of the iconic 18th Century pagoda offers a chance to enjoy the
historic vistas and see the Gardens laid out like a map.
At White Peaks exhibition space the New Views Photography Exhibition offers a visual feast of garden and plant photography presented by the Garden Writers’ Guild Photographers’ Group. Over 100 breathtaking images from some of the world’s most talented plant photographers are on display.
Bring your children along to Climbers and Creepers - the UK’s first interactive botanical play area opening on 29 June, offering fun for accompanied 3 to 9-year-olds. A magical landscape of super-sized plants packed with adventure, this major new indoor/outdoor attraction combines play with learning come rain or shine. Hidden away in the woodland area, children can also Be a Badger! in our human-sized badger sett. Food stores, sleeping chambers and nests enable them to experience how these popular striped inhabitants of Kew live.
Art installations really get down to grass roots this summer - artist Walter Bailey works on felled timber with a chainsaw to create unusual sculpture. In Turning Over a New Leaf, giant-sized banners among the trees show an astonishing view of leaf surfaces and fragments examined under the microscope, presented by artist Rob Kesseler.
New talks and tours show a host of different views of the Gardens, wild areas, lake and river. You’ll never look at a walking stick the same way after following the walking stick tour. Artist Chris Dorsett uses his imagination to envisage the relationships between trees and walking sticks on this unique trail.
Be inspired by the talents of Kew's Diploma students from the prestigious School of Horticulture. Tomorrow's star horticulturists present fresh perspectives on garden design with six Ideas Gardens showing new creative approaches. Marvel at The Language of Flowers - a vast 60 metre floral landscape inviting visitors to explore the theme of traditional symbolism of flowers. Near the river is a field of genuine opium poppies, grown under a special license, with fascinating information on its medicinal uses over the ages.
Last year Mary Reynolds, Chelsea gold medallist, created an aquatic garden for Kew, funded by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Focusing on British biodiversity and natural planting, the garden has now matured and this summer offers improved access for visitors to appreciate this stunning, tranquil setting.
With the long summer evenings ahead, Kew presents a selection of entertainment to suit all tastes. Shakespeare at Kew kicks off in style against the magnificent backdrop of Kew Palace on June 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20 with magical open-air productions of Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing. Call 020 8332 5616 for bookings. The Diaspora Music Village Festival showcases a vibrant mix of world music performed by groups from the UK and overseas. One of the best free concerts you’ll find this summer in a relaxed lakeside setting, 12.30 until 9pm, 3 and 4 July. Call 020 7456 0404 for a free entry voucher.
For more details on New Views visit www.kew.org/newviews
Kew Gardens is just 25 minutes from Charing Cross by District line
tube and 20 minutes by overland train from Waterloo. Free parking is
available on Kew Road and Kew Green after 10.00am. Entry is £8.50
for adults, £6.00 concessions, children 16 and under are free.
Kew Gardens is open daily from 9:30 am and closes at 6:30 pm (7:30pm
at weekends and bank holidays) until Sunday 5 September. From Monday
6 September closing is 6:00pm weekdays. For details on visiting Kew
call 020 8332 5655 or visit www.kew.org.
For further information and images please contact Ali Cuthbert or Hannah
Rogers at Kew Press Office: tel 020 8332 5607 (please note: not for
publication) or email pr@kew.org
For further Press information please contact:
|
Kew: Public Relations Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5607/5619 |
Wakehurst Place: Public Relations Tel: +44 (0)1444 894018 |
