Richmond upon Thames Travel & Transfer Guide

Royal parks, palaces and the Thames

Richmond upon Thames has some of the best-known green spaces in Britain. Richmond Park is the largest of London's Royal Parks, home to free-roaming red and fallow deer, and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Upstream, Hampton Court Palace, the Tudor and Baroque palace of Henry VIII and William III, sits beside Bushy Park.

The borough is also full of grand riverside houses, including Ham House, Marble Hill and Strawberry Hill House, Horace Walpole's Gothic villa. Twickenham Stadium is the home of English rugby, and Richmond, Twickenham, Teddington and Barnes all have attractive riverside high streets.

Places worth knowing

• Richmond Park – deer, woodland and the view from King Henry's Mound.
• Kew Gardens – glasshouses, treetop walkway and botanical collections.
• Hampton Court Palace – Tudor kitchens, gardens and maze.
• WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes – wildlife reserve on former reservoirs.

Getting in and out

Richmond has the District line, Overground and South Western Railway trains to Waterloo. Kew Gardens station is on the District line and Overground, and Twickenham, Teddington and Hampton Court have South Western Railway services. The A316 links to the M3, and the A205 South Circular runs through Kew.

Airport transfers from Richmond upon Thames

Heathrow is close, usually reached via the A316 and A312 or through Twickenham and Hounslow. Gatwick is reached via the A3 and M25. For cruise passengers, Southampton is a straightforward drive via the M3.

See our Heathrow Airport transfers and private tour transfers pages.

Pickup tips for this borough

Twickenham Stadium match days and concerts bring major closures and congestion. Richmond town centre and Richmond Hill have narrow streets and limited stopping places. Gates in Richmond Park close at dusk to vehicles, so evening routes avoid the park.

Frequently asked questions

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