3 Bed House with garden close to Thames river (2 min walk, private road to river nearby), on the District Line Underground (7 min walk) for direct access into Central London, near Kew Gardens. Kids' playground within walking distance along the Thames towpath.
Residential neighbourhood, mix of English and corporate expat families. The house is in a cul-de-sac with a private road to the River Thames at its end.
The house's rear garden borders on the National Archives' park.
The space
House: 3 bedrooms on the 1st floor (i.e. up 1 flight of stairs from the ground floor), 1 bathroom on the 1st floor and a closet for a front-loading washing machine and a separate dryer. On the ground floor, there is 1 separate toilet, a reception room, a fully equipped kitchen (family-size fridge, freezer, microwave, oven, induction hob, dishwasher), and an office. Wi-Fi. Front (small) and rear garden.
Residential neighbourhood, a mix of English and corporate expat families. The house is in a cul-de-sac with a private road leading to the River Thames at its end. The river is about 300 feet away. Within walking distance of the subway (7 min).
All linen and towels are provided, except linen for the baby travel cot. Hairdryer provided. Five US-compatible electricity sockets available (with 220 Volts 50Hz, so check your power supply first!). 12 European-compatible electricity sockets available. The kitchen is fully equipped.
Beds: The master double is 2m by 160cm (6ft 8in feet by 5ft 4 in)
The second double is 2m by 130cm (this one does not have headboards, so lengthwise more flexible than most) (6ft 8in by 4 ft 4 in)
The antique bed in the rear bedroom is 1.90m by 120cm (in the images, this bed has a pink-coloured cover) (6 ft 4 in by 4 ft)
Each bed has wooden slats underneath the mattress, and the double beds have two separate slat parts.
A travel cot is available for babies.
Note: the kids’ climbing frame in the garden has been taken down and will be replaced. Please ask me if I've done that already when you book.
Guest access
Whole house and garden: Guests have the entire house at their disposal, except for the attic (which isn’t actually an attic, as there are no stairs leading up to it) and the garden shed. Please note that this is an occupied house, not a vacant rental flat. As such, there is a fully equipped kitchen with everything a family (I believe) needs for cooking, eating and so on.
Other things to note
Central London via the Underground: 30-40 minutes. The District line serves Kew Gardens (7-minute walk - Zone 3), as does the Overground. Further, there is an Overland railway station at Kew Bridge (a 10-minute walk) that takes you to Waterloo railway station in 21 minutes.
By bicycle, one can follow the towpath to Hammersmith Bridge or continue to Putney Bridge (50 minutes).
Imperial College (and the Natural History Museum, the Science and Technology Museum, and the Victoria and Albert): 20-minute ride, straight shot on the tube (to South Kensington).
Sloan Square and the King's Road: 20-25-minute ride, straight shot on the tube (to Sloan Square)
Buckingham Palace and Victoria: 25-30-minute subway ride, straight shot (to Victoria)
Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey: 30-33-minute ride, straight shot on the tube (to Westminster)
Covent Garden, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, National Galleries: 30-35-minute ride, straight shot on the tube (to Embankment)
British Museum: 40-minute ride (switch at Barons Court to the Piccadilly line, literally across the same platform) to Holborn.
Local:
- Kew Retail Park is a 5-minute walk from the house, passing through the National Archives garden.
- Domesday Book (a 900-year-old tax book for William the Conqueror) is in the National Archives, literally around the corner. The garden of the house borders the National Archives (where all official records for the UK, England and Wales are kept).
- Kew Gardens (great for kids) are an 8-minute walk along the river.
- Hampton Court Palace (Henry VIII's palace) is a bit further west along the river tow path (45 minutes by bicycle, or take the R68 bus from the Kew Retail Park).
- Richmond Park is approximately 2 miles from the House.
- Ealing Studios (film production) are about 3.5 miles from the House
- Twickenham Stadium (btw, when the rugby teams score a goal, one can hear it (lightly) when standing in the house garden). About 20 min by bicycle.
Car: If you come by car, there's a parking zone active on weekdays between 10 and noon. If you let me know early enough, I can order resident visitor scratchcards (they cost a couple of pounds a day) for parking in the street itself.
Airports: London Heathrow is a 20-minute drive away (not accounting for traffic). By Underground, it takes between 45 minutes and 1 hour 10 minutes. London Gatwick is a 60-minute car ride. Alternatively, you can take the direct subway to Victoria and then a direct train. London Stansted and London Luton are 1.5 hours by car. You can take the subway to Victoria and then a bus. London City is on the opposite side of London. You can take the Underground to Bank, then the Docklands Light Railway (with an Underground ticket or Oyster card). The same route applies if you need to go to Canary Wharf. Simply alight a few stations earlier on the DLR, or alternatively take the Underground to Westminster and then the Jubilee line.
Playgrounds: There is a playground for young kids, an 8-minute walk along the towpath (no cars) just before Kew Bridge (right out of the house, right towards the river, left towards Kew Bridge). Kew Green is always fun too, about an 8-minute walk.
Boatrace: the house is about 1 mile (along the towpath) from the finish line of the annual Oxford/Cambridge rowing race.
Hospital: The nearest Accident and Emergency is West Middlesex Hospital on the other side of the river, a 10-minute ride by car, or a 10-minute walk to bus 267 (the stop just over Kew Bridge, on your left) and then 10 min. by bus
Local restaurants and pubs within walking distance: range from very nice English (e.g. at the Kew Inn), Indian, and Italian, to a well-known grill and pizza places. There’s also a Gail’s Bakery.
Local small supermarket (Tesco Express) near Kew Gardens Station (8 min walk). Marks & Spencer’s is in a small mall (5 min walk), the Kew Retail Park. Large Sainsbury’s supermarket 20 min walk (3 min by car).
Cash: near the Kew Gardens subway stop, there are 2 cash machines. There's another cash machine at the large Sainsbury's.
Running: the towpath is very flat, fast, and pleasant for both short and long runs. For hill work, head into Richmond Park, about 2 km (1.5 miles) away.
Cycling: Mountain/hybrid: towpath less than 100 m (300 ft). To the West, it goes to Hampton Court and beyond (via Kingston). If you're feeling inspired, you can ride to Henley-on-Thames. To the East, the towpath goes to Putney. Also nearby is the Brentford entrance to the British Waterways system, where you can cycle along the canal to places such as Little Venice and Regent's Park. And if you're truly inspired, all the way to Birmingham.
Road Cycling: Richmond Park is nearby, where you can test yourself against some of the nation's best. Box Hill and the other Surrey Hills are a bit more than 1 hour away by bike.
Watersports: several rowing clubs nearby, a canoeing club in Richmond. Swimming pool within walking distance (beach type swimming pool, great for kids) at the Brentford leisure centre; Richmond's pools in the park, 5 min by car (indoor and outdoor pools).
