Hampton Court Palace - halfway back by river
 

If one wanted to take the train from Waterloo to Hampton Court Palace, but go only partway back by river and the rest by the Tube (train?) again, where would you do best to get off the riverboat and catch the Tube? I'm a bit confused as to the riverboat stops. can see that there's both a Richmond and Kew Gardens Tube station, and it seems that the return riverboat stops at Kew, but is that riverboat stop convenient to the Kew Gardens Tube stop? Other sources seem to imply that the riverboat stop at Richmond as well, but is that convenient to the Richmond Tube stop? Or is either of them just a short(ish) walk from wherever the boat lets you off?

I'm trying to figure a way to get the pleasure of a river cruise from Hampton Court Palace next May without using up three hours or so that I'd rather spend at the Palace or in London. And I do understand that the prettiest part of the trip is the part from Hampton to Kew.

I hope this question was clear.

Thanks,

I'm sure the riverboat company must have a website that would give you that information, or an email address you can write to for guidance. Also look at www.multimap.com, you can zoom into any area in the UK and it will show you exactly where the tube stations are in relation to the river - the one for Kew is on the other side of Kew Gardens from the river so it may be quite a hike from the pier. When I went to Hampton Court I took the train both ways - gives you more time to explore Hampton and its gardens.

Thank you, Daisy, for your reply. Actually, I had consulted multimap previously, and did so again at your suggestion, but I simply can't seem to identify just where the docks or piers are in relation to the stations. So I did email The Westminster Passenger Services and am hoping that they will be able to help me.

My idea was that I really want either to leave from or arrive at Hampton Court Palace by water, just for the experience, but for the shortest trip possible. If it takes a long time to get from either pier (Richmond or Kew) to a station, then that sort of defeats my purpose, and I might as well stay on until Westminster.

Thanks again,

It is 5 to 10 minute walk from Richmond Pier to the Richmond station. I have done it. It would be a good 20 minute walk(guessing, I have not done it) from Kew pier to Kew Gardens station. Another option would be to cross Kew Bridge to Kew Bridge train station, where you can catch a train into London Waterloo. Less than a 5 minute walk, which I have done.

Thanks very much, Ron. Just what I was trying to find out.

The web site for the Westminster boats is www.wpsa.co.uk. Kew Gardens Pier is on the south bank of the river immediately downstream of Kew Bridge. The nearest station is Kew Bridge which has half-hourly trains to Waterloo. Richmond Landing Stage is on the south bank upstream of Richmond Bridge. Richmond station is about ten minutes' walk. There are also boats from Hampton Court to Kingston which takes half an hour; these are run by Turks (www.turks.co.uk) and Parrs (no web site). Kingston station is about 15 minutes' walk and has frequent trains to Waterloo, covered by a zone 1-6 Travelcard.
I'd suggest you wait till you get there and see what the weather's like and decide how much time you want to spend at Hampton Court.

Thank you very much, Geoff; that's more information than I even knew existed. Kingston, huh? Sounds interesting.

We will be in London in mid-March, but it looks like the riverboat service doesn't start for the season until April...can someone confirm this? Otherwise it looks like we will have to take the District line; not nearly as scenic!