Richmond/Ted Lasso/ London question

[Snowdropanddiddums]

We’ve just finished watching Ted Lasso and loved it. Every time he walks out of his apartment towards the little square with the bench I said I want to go there! Is it actually as pretty in real life as it looks on screen? I have an inkling to go down for one night in December ( from the north west so trains need booking) and was wondering what anyone from London would recommend to do that’s nearby? I already looked for Christmas at Kew which would have been perfect but every single time slot is sold out. Hampton court palace looks not too far away on google maps and there’s ice skating there? Is this good?? Is Kew gardens worth a visit with primary age kids in the day time?

Yes to all of those ideas. Kew Gardens has a great children's garden and Hampton Court is also great for kids.

And it is just like that in real life. With lots of little shops down the alleyway he lives on.

We did the same thing last Christmas - it really is as lovely as in the show. We also had lunch in the pub from the show which was great.

Ham House is another nice visit, if you can't get to Kew.

I've not seen Ted Lasso but there's a lovely theatre on Richmond Green and nice walks to be had down by the river. Kew Gardens are nice but Hampton Court is AMAZING and has a temporary ice rink at Xmas.

Thanks. I might try and stretch to two nights then and do the full day at Hampton court and then on the travel days do one at Richmond and one in central London just having a wander.

Yes - It can be quite lovely. My DH lived there when we were dating.i would have bought there but he hated it 🤣

If you visit

I recommend going here
https://www.binghamriverhouse.com/dine/

Petershams nursery is also nice...

We drove there after visiting Hampton Court Palace. I was very excited to see the pub and the lane. There’s not a huge amount of shops there so not that much to see otherwise.

its fine there, nothing special though. You wouldn’t need much time there. I wouldn’t make the trip specially!

Paved Court is the IRL street Ted lives on. Hampton Court has a kids play area called the Magic Garden, as well as ice skating, though not sure how pleasant either will be if it’s raining. You can get the train from Richmond to Kingston (more established shopping centre than Richmond and a winter market style thing on til January) then a bus across to Hampton Court fairly easily. For something a lot somewhat off piste, there are festive shirehorse carriage rides on various weekends in December, the earlier weekends at Hampton Court and the later from Bushy Park (approx 15-20 min walk away from the palace).

I think the magic garden is shut in the winter :(

Also worth visiting the terrace at the top of Richmond hill, as featured in an early episode.

Hampton Court has a Christmas market this weekend coming.

There's also a river boat from Hampton Court to Richmond, or for a shorter ride from Richmond to Kew.
The view from the top of Richmond Hill is breathtaking and the river itself and town are picturesque.

I used to work 100m from the bench. It’s a pretty bit of the town and a few minutes from the river. Lots of nice pubs and cafes but nothing that much to see. A hour or two would be enough. The Richmond Theatre on the other side of the Green might have a panto on?

Hampton Court is great for the kids.

We stayed in Richmond earlier in the year, I've never seen so much wisteria it was beautiful. Richmond Premier Inn is perfectly located 5 min walk from a large Sainsbury's, 10 min walk to tube, bus stop right outside that takes you to Hampton Court and Twickenham, and Kew gardens is a 10 min walk. We also went to Richmond theatre which was lovely but I suspect will be all booked up by now

If you go to Church Street in Twickenham a very nice walk down the river, they did filming there too.

The alley is the same but Richmond is a lot busier than it looks in the show.. if you visit then it’s worth a walk up Richmond hill to see the view from the top and also visit Richmond park too .