This is my last Spring post, promise!
After going for my walk around Hampstead yesterday, and it being TWO beautiful days in a row (unheard of in London!), I decided to go to the Chelsea Physic Garden, located along the Thames in Chelsea, which was not too far a walk from the Sloane Square tube station, where I started from.
I was a little distracted while walking there by all the wisteria that was out around the place! Oh it is truly beautiful to see an old wisteria vine curling around an even older house in London.
So with that out of the way, I went to Chelsea Physic Garden. This is an old walled garden right in London, which was established as an apothecaries garden in the 17th Century. It was used by the apothecaries to grow herbs and plants for medicines and in order to study them. It is one of the oldest botanic gardens in the UK and is divided up into sections with signage denoting what the plants were (and in some cases, still are) used to cure, and from what country. There is also sections on edible plants as well as several greenhouses with cacti and succulents.
I arrived there just in time for the guided tour, which was good because I got to hear some of this historical background from the guide in situ. It was really very interesting.
Before I went home, I thought I would have a quick look around Chelsea, as it's not really a part of London I go to very often. It was bright and sunny and warm and very enjoyable to walk around - there was lots more wisteria and some beautiful houses!