Can You Take Dogs to Kew Gardens?

Kew Gardens is a magical place in West London. It is pretty ancient too, having been set up when George III was on the throne. As you would expect it has some arcane rules governing what you can and cannot do.

Read on to find out what is allowed and what could get you ejected from the grounds!

Can you take your dog to Kew Gardens?

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

Dogs love trees. Trees don't always love dogs

Kew Gardens would a great place to walk a dog, right? All those beautiful grounds to run about in.

The short answer is no. Unless you have a registered disability dog, you can't bring your dog to Kew Gardens.

The reasons for banning dogs in Kew Gardens are numerous. Dogs dig holes, poo, trample plants and scare people. And Kew is not just a nice park, it is a world-renown botanical research centre. No-one wants any of that luscious and sometime incredibly rare greenery damaged by an over-enthusiastic canine.

The vast majority of dogs (and dog-owners) are well-trained of course, and would be kept on leashes, poo picked up etc. But it can be difficult distinguishing the well-behaved dogs from the others, and so it is safest just to ban all dogs from Kew Gardens.

Can you get married in Kew Gardens?

Photo: Marzia Kjellberg

Youtuber PewDiePie got married in Kew Gardens in 2019

Yes you can! Kew has lots of wedding options, for example the Classic Wedding in the Nash Conservatory, with dinner at the Orangery.

As well as the Classic Wedding, there are lots of other options for weddings in Kew Gardens depending on your pocket and the number of guests you want.

Can you take pictures in Kew Gardens?

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An iguana in Kew Gardens

Pictures are one of the few things that you are definitely encouraged to take in Kew Gardens. The more you can take the better really.

And you will want to take a lot of photos, as there is a lot to see, not just plants, but animals too, including this iguana in the Prince of Wales Conservatory. It was sitting so still that we thought it was a model at first, but after a few minutes its eyeball swivelled slowly to look at us.

Can you smoke in Kew Gardens?

Yes, so long as you do in the gardens, not the buildings. To find out more, see our article about eating at Kew Gardens.

Can you buy plants in Kew Gardens?

Image credit: Wolfgang Stuppy

Venus flytrap

Mostly Kew Gardens focuses on growing things, conservation, and generally being a National Treasure. However, there are various retail outlets in the Gardens selling homeware, books, stationery and gifts.

There is also an online shop selling clothes, books, gifts, gardening equipment and prints. But curiously, it doesn't sell much in the way of actual plants. Although if you need some compost to repot your carnivorous plants, they'll be able to help you.

If you want the genuine Kew Garden vibe in your house, maybe the best thing is to read this article where the experts at Kew recommend 6 plants (including the Venus flytrap) found in Kew Garden that will grow happily at home.

Can you eat in Kew Gardens?

Kew Gardens

Afternoon tea at the Botanical, Kew Gardens

You certainly can, and we've written a whole article covering all the options for eating at Kew Gardens. This includes everything from grabbing a sandwich in Waterloo station on your way to Kew, via afternoon tea at the Botanical, to fine dining.