Weekend Wandering - Petersham Nurseries and Richmond, London

March 01, 2016


One of our favourite places to go for a weekend wander is Richmond. We whizz down the M25 on a Saturday or Sunday morning and head to Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park where you can park for free. You get all the London benefits like good shopping, a lively town, burritos, sushi, a Wholefoods Store, even red buses! But without going into the actual city. It's a beautiful place with the Thames running through and an abundance of green space. Kew Gardens is just down the road {see this post from last Spring and an autumn visit here}. If we didn't have family and friends here in Hertfordshire we always say how lovely it would be to live down that way. Anyway, it's a beautiful place to visit and we can never resist stopping at Petersham Nurseries whilst we're down that way


This post is actually a mix of two, one from our most recent visit on Sunday with the pup and I've merged it into a post from my Birthday lunch last year which has sat in the drafts section of the blog. I don't know why I never got round to finishing it! 



We always park in Richmond Park and then walk through it, along past Star and Garter hill, spotting the deer and the view into the city as we go and admire the noisy, vivid green parakeets that sit in the trees above. As you walk further into the town you get to one of the most beautiful views in London from the top of Richmond Hill. 


On Sunday it was a bit grey but on a sunny, clear day it's beautiful with the Thames in the background. 



We normally keep walking, past all the ridiculously beautiful houses, along to the main high street ogling at some of the posh shop windows, always stopping for a browse in Anthropologie, Zara Home, Whistles, Oliver Bonas and the like. I love the shops in Richmond.


There's a Jo Malone too and a Molton Brown along with the Wholefoods Market where we stock up on some favourite healthy brands we can't get in rural Hertfordshire. London always has the best selection. 


In the springtime Richmond is beautiful {remember this post from last April when we stayed at The Bingham for a night? } and there are magnolia trees in abundance. We walked through the town and then through Richmond Green where Riley could run off lead again for a while before heading down to the river.




The row of cottages above are super cute. The river is always nice for a walk but later in the Spring/Summer on a sunny day it will be at it's very best with bunting, boats and a real buzz. There are some bars and restaurants to sit out and soak it all up.


If you keep on walking along the river back towards the park you'll reach Petersham Meadows that lead onto the nursery. 


It always feels like such a treat visiting Petersham Nurseries, there's just so much inspiration to take home. Everything is beautifully done throughout the greenhouses and outside areas. The furniture and antiquey garden ornaments are to die for!! But a little pricey! It's one of the oldest and most famous nurseries in London.


I love their plants though and we bought some seeds and dahlias on Sunday for our allotment and garden



At the weekend we had lunch in the Teahouse, you sit on rickety chairs in the greenhouse surrounded by botany. The teahouse is very good for tea, cake and light lunches. 






Dogs are welcome everywhere {even in the main restaurant which used to be Michelin Starred! When we ate there for my Birthday a dog was being served carrots as a snack!} so it was great we could take Riley with us. There are always tonnes of babies there when we visit so it's super family friendly too. We split two different types of quiche and frittata with salad and then shared a yummy piece of carrot cake for lunch on Sunday. 



And then swooned over all the decor and planting ideas around the nursery. 




#portholemirrorselfie.


I want a slate topped table after seeing this one. The walled garden outside is beautiful in the summer for sitting out in.


There are always great big urns planted up with spring bulbs or summer blooms.



If you want a more special lunch then book into the Cafe, as I said previously it used to be Michelin starred but the chef quit in the end as people were turning up and not expecting a Michelin Starred restaurant to be in a greenhouse! It was too rustic for a lot of diners and they ended up complaining. Such a shame, we love it's unique charm. Beats a soulless city restaurant any day! 



Lunch was amazing, it's only open for dinner on certain evenings throughout the year so try and book ahead for a lunch if you can especially if it's a weekend. 


The tables are beautifully decorated with florals grown on site and there's such a mismatch of vintage tables and chairs. 


I'd say the food is a mix of English and Italian with a lot of vegetables and fish on the menu. Everything was fresh and wholesome feeling whilst being delicious. 



We visited with my parents for my Birthday lunch last March.


Complete with a little candle in my panacotta. It can be quite spendy for a lunch but considering the location and the quality of it all, I think it's worth it. However, my Mum nearly choked on her wine when she saw the bill was £14 for a single glass!! They sometimes have Winter lunchtime deals so it's worth checking out their social media. Definitely somewhere for special occasions. I want to go back and eat their again soon. 




Such a beautiful place and so lovely to visit throughout the year to see the changing seasons reflected in their decor. 


The houses around Petersham are just a dream and from there you can either carry on along the river to somewhere like Ham House, a pretty national trust property as we did last summer, or walk back up into the Park across the road.


Cute snapchat filter in the park! Riley was exhausted after his big adventure and slept all the way home. Such a precious pup.

Have you been to Richmond? One of our all time favourites. 

More info on Petersham Nurseries here.

R <3 xx

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1 comments

  1. Such a gorgeous post. As if I didn't want to visit Richmond enough, this has only increased that urge (need)!

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