Plan your visit to Community Open Week
For opening times, booking information, how to get here, access and contact information – here's everything you need to know for Community Open Week.
Getting to Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens has four main entrances: Victoria Gate, Brentford Gate, Elizabeth Gate and Lion Gate. Please see the Getting here page on our website where you can find directions on how to get to the Gardens by different modes of transport, as well as which gates are closer to stations and car parks.
Parking at and around Kew Gardens is extremely limited, with spaces in our car park available on a first come, first served basis.
Kew Gardens car park (TW9 3AF) is located near Brentford Gate:
- Drivers displaying a blue badge can park in Kew Gardens car park (TW9 3AF) free of charge.
- There are 8 accessible/blue badge parking spaces in the car park (you can use other spaces if full)
- There are 2 accessible/blue badge parking spaces to the right of the Elizabeth Gate on Kew Green
We advise you not to travel by coach as there is no coach park at Kew.
Entering the Gardens and finding the Community Hub
The Gardens open at 10am and close at different times throughout the year. Please check our opening and closing times as well as any planned closures before you visit.
To speed up your entry to the Gardens, please bring your tickets (either printed or on a mobile device) or a Community Open Week leaflet. We recommend that, where possible, you use Victoria Gate (TW9 3JR), where there will be a dedicated member of Community Open Week staff welcoming visitors. If there is a queue at this gate, please approach this member of staff to let them know you are here for Community Open Week, and they will help you to bypass the queue. They can also provide you with a printed Community Open Week programme and map, and direct you towards the Community Hub, which is where the activities take place.
The Community Hub is located next to the Temperate House and Davies Exploration House. Once inside the Gardens, you can follow the orange Community Hub signs.
Approximate walking times from the gates to the Community Hub are as follows:
From Victoria Gate: 10 minutes
From Elizabeth Gate: 20 minutes
From Lion Gate: 10 minutes
From Brentford Gate: 15 minutes
This event is open to all ages and abilities, free of charge. It is open to community groups that are new to Kew Gardens, as well as our existing CAS members. Entry to the Gardens and all Community Open Week activities will not affect your CAS ticket allocation if you are a Kew CAS member.
Planning your day
Once you have arrived at the Community Hub, make your way to our welcome tent. Here you can get a printed programme with the map and the schedule of activities for each day.
Feel free to browse our online Community Open Week activities programme in advance of your visit.
Most activities are drop-in and there is no need to pre-book. For activities that are bookable on the day, we recommend enquiring at the welcome tent as early as possible, for the best chance of availability.
Community Open Week activities run from 10.30am to 4pm each day.
All Community Open Week activities are subject to availability on the day. If a drop-in activity is full when you arrive, please be assured that all activities are designed to have a short wait time and there will be a range of other activities to get involved in.
Your registration for Community Open Week also includes entry to the Gardens which you will be free to explore at your own pace.
As visits will usually involve walking (including over uneven or grassy terrain) we strongly recommend that visitors wear comfortable footwear.
Most activities are outdoors, so we suggest that you consider the weather when preparing for your visit. We recommend bringing an umbrella and raincoat in case of wet weather, an extra layer to ensure you stay warm in cooler weather, or sun cream, a refillable water bottle and a hat in the case of particularly hot weather.
You are welcome to bring your own food and drink to enjoy in the Gardens and picnicking is welcome. Please note that we are unable to provide a covered or indoor area in the event of inclement weather. We have several restaurants and cafés in the Gardens where you can purchase food and drink. We are aware that the cost of items may be prohibitive for some visitors so please bring your own food/drink if you wish.
There are also small supermarkets next to Kew Gardens station, and near to Lion Gate.
There is a multifaith prayer and reflection room at Victoria Plaza. The room does not have any articles of faith like prayer mats or texts, so visitors need to bring their own.
For further information, please visit the Toilets and facilities page.
If you would like a copy of our Risk Assessment for this event, please request one by emailing community@kew.org.
Be aware that Kew is a working site, and this means that we have vehicles and machinery travelling on our footpaths and throughout the Gardens. Please make sure you and your group are mindful of this during your visit.
Accessibility and visual guide
Please make use of our Community Open Week visual guide to help prepare for your visit. In it you will find information about what to expect during your visit and top tips to help you have a fantastic time in the Gardens.
You can also use Kew’s accessibility map.
You are welcome to bring your own wheelchairs and/or mobility scooters to use at Kew. Please note, we do not allow bicycles, micro-scooters or any other vehicles that are not mobility aids in the Gardens.
There are a limited number of wheelchairs available to borrow at the entry gates. If you have a group that might require a number of these, please contact us at community@kew.org and we will do our best to try to accommodate this.
Kew has a very small number of mobility scooters available to hire on a first come, first served basis. To enquire about booking mobility scooters, please phone 0208 332 5121.
The Gardens are largely flat, with most places accessible by tarmac paths and are therefore suitable for wheelchairs and/or prams.
Please note, the Gardens are situated under a flightpath and there are sometimes vehicles and/or machinery at work on-site which can cause significant noise.
We have a small number of large print maps for individuals with a visual impairment. Hearing loops are fitted at all our gates.
Each of our nine toilets have a unisex accessible option, and the toilets at Brentford Gate include a Changing Places toilet. More information about our toilets can be found on our toilets and facilities page.
Please note that some of our activities take place in areas of the Gardens that are some distance from toilets, so you may want to plan for using one of the bathrooms at the start of your visit or before travelling to your activity.
Please let us know at community@kew.org if you or your group has any access requirements that we should be aware of or if there are any adjustments we can make to ensure your visit is more enjoyable.
Visit the accessibility at Kew page for more information.
Other useful information
Children aged 16 years and under must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
The Children's Garden is a free flow attraction where visitors can come and go from opening time up until one hour before the Gardens close.
We recommend visitors keep group sizes as small as possible when visiting the Children’s Garden to make supervision easier.
Visit our Children's Garden page for more information.
We will be taking photographs during Community Open Week but we will only use images where we have your permission. We will ask you to complete a permission form where relevant. Please ask for a ‘no photos’ sticker at the welcome tent if you do not wish to be featured in any photographs.
We will be encouraging Community Open Week visitors to complete feedback forms during and after the event. This is important for us to make improvements, to provide you with the best experience and to evidence impact to our funders so that we can run similar events in the future.
To thank you for giving us your feedback at the event, we will be offering Community Open Week participants free tickets for one return visit to Kew Gardens with friends and family.
For queries about Community Open Week, email community@kew.org or phone 0208 332 3600. If the line is busy, please leave a voicemail message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
- Kew Visitor Information: 0208 332 5655
- Kew Constabulary (non-emergency): 0208 332 5121
- Kew Constabulary (emergencies only): 0208 332 3333