Kingston upon Thames

Worth seeing in and around Kingston upon Thames

10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.

1. 01
   Hampton Court Palace

   Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, 12 miles southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York and the chief minister of Henry VIII. In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the cardinal gave the palace to the king to try to save his own life, which he knew was now in grave danger due to Henry VIII's deepening frustration and anger.

   2.7 km · historic royal palace in Richmond, Greater London · Wikipedia
2. 02
   Twickenham Stadium

   Twickenham Stadium is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union, the English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there.

   5.9 km · rugby stadium in London · Wikipedia
3. 03
   Richmond Park

   Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park.

   4 km · Royal Park in London, England, UK · Wikipedia
4. 04
   Kingston University

   Kingston University London is a public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded in 1899.

   800 m · UK university (1992-) · Wikipedia
5. 05
   Bushy Park

   Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at 445 hectares in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton Court Park and is a few minutes' walk from the west side of Kingston Bridge.

   2.7 km · Royal Park of London · Wikipedia
6. 06
   Kingsmeadow

   Kingsmeadow is a football stadium in Norbiton, Kingston upon Thames, London, which is used for home matches by Chelsea Women and Cobham Next Gen. It was formerly the home of Kingstonian and AFC Wimbledon and has a capacity of 4,850 with 2,265 seats.

   1.3 km · football stadium in Kingston upon Thames, UK · Wikipedia
7. 07
   Strawberry Hill House

   Strawberry Hill House—often called simply Strawberry Hill—is a Gothic Revival villa in Twickenham, London, built by Horace Walpole from 1749 onward. It is the prototypical example of the "Strawberry Hill Gothic" style of architecture, and it prefigured the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival.

   3.9 km · villa and house museum in Twickenham, London, United Kingdom · Wikipedia
8. 08
   Richmond Bridge

   Richmond Bridge is an 18th-century stone arch bridge that crosses the River Thames at Richmond, connecting the two halves of the present-day London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was designed by James Paine and Kenton Couse.

   5.2 km · 18th-century bridge in London, England · Wikipedia
9. 09
   Twickenham Stoop

   Twickenham Stoop is a stadium in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, close to Twickenham Stadium, England's national rugby union stadium. The Stoop is home to the Harlequins in Premiership Rugby and has a capacity of 14,800.

   5.4 km · sports stadium in London · Wikipedia
10. 10
    Ham House

    Ham House is a 17th-century house set in formal gardens on the bank of the River Thames in Ham, south of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The original house was completed in 1610 by Thomas Vavasour, an Elizabethan courtier and Knight Marshal to James I. It was then leased, and later bought, by William Murray, a close friend and supporter of Charles I. The English Civil War saw the house and much of the estate sequestrated, but Murray's wife Catherine regained them on payment of a fine.

    3.9 km · historic house museum in Ham, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, UK · Wikipedia

Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What Wikivoyage says to see

1. 01
   Red House

   Red House Lane, Bexleyheath, DA6 8JF (rail: Bexleyheath ), redhouse@nationaltrust.org.uk.

2. 02
   Danson Park
3. 03
   Woolwich Dockyard

   Historic area for both ship and weapon-making.

4. 04
   Charlton House

   Formerly housing a museum and archives, the mansion is now a community centre, and much of the former pleasure grounds are parks.

5. 05
   Lesnes Abbey Woods
6. 06
   Crossness Engines

   Bazalgette Way, Abbey Wood SE2 9AQ (rail: Abbey Wood ELI ).

From Wikivoyage: Kingston upon Thames, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Things to do

Green Chain Walk, begins at the gardens by the Thames Barrier and is a leafy pedestrian and cycle path that continues deeper into the south-eastern suburbs. Can also check the pretty villages of Kent dotted around just outside London. Walk or cycle the Thames Path which follows the south bank of the river from Greenwich to Erith. Most sections are paved although there are some gravel/rough sections.

1. 01
   Churchill Theatre
2. 02
   Quaser
3. 03
   Fairfield Halls

   Park Lane, Croydon, CR9 1DG, Box Office).

4. 04
   BRIT School

   Performing Arts and Technology school owned by the BRIT Trust (known for the BRIT Awards).

5. 05
   Croydon Grants

   Includes a large 11-screen Vue Cinema, The Milan Bar (a Wetherspoons chain pub), Reflex 80s Bar and Disco, Nando's and Tiger Tiger restaurant and nightclub.

6. 06
   Crystal Palace FC

   Selhurst Park Stadium, Whitehorse Lane SE25 6PU, Ticket office).

From Wikivoyage: Kingston upon Thames, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Where to eat

1. 01
   Cinnamon Culture

   46 Plaistow Ln, Bromley, BR1 3PA, info@cinnamonculture.com.

2. 02
   Cafe Giardino

   30 N End, Croydon, CR0 1TY (Centrale & Whitgift).

3. 03
   Chat House Tandoori

   14-16 Brighton Rd, South Croydon, CR2 6AA,.

4. 04
   Little Bay Croydon

   32 Selsdon Road, South Croydon, CR2 6PB, croydon@littlebay.co.uk.

5. 05
   The Spread Eagle Ale & Pie House

   39-41 Katharine St, Croydon, CR0 1NX, spreadeagle@fullers.co.uk.

From Wikivoyage: Kingston upon Thames, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Getting to Kingston upon Thames

Airports

London Heathrow (LHR), 13 km · London Gatwick (LGW), 30 km · London Luton (LTN), 52 km

Stations

Richmond station, 5.9 km · Twickenham railway station, 4.9 km · Wimbledon Chase railway station, 5.9 km · Hampton railway station, 5 km

• Luton, Luton → Kingston upon Thames

  53 km · quickest by road, 1h 37m · £7–9
  GuideToday
• London, Essex → Kingston upon Thames

  16 km · quickest by road, 1h 6m · £1.5–2.5
  GuideToday
• Birmingham, West Midlands → Kingston upon Thames

  162 km · quickest by road, 3h 11m · £19–25
  GuideToday
• From anywhere

  The planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
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Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

No local-transport research exists yet for Kingston upon Thames

Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Kingston upon Thames. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

If you know how people move in Kingston upon Thames – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.