After leaving Barnes at the end of February, for our first house sit in March, we caught a train and took the 30-minute ride to the London suburb of Chiswick.

First Pet & House sit in March – Chiswick

The Home

The house was lovely. An extended semi-detached property, located on a quiet residential street in an amazing location

A three-minute walk took us to Hammersmith Bridge and a small, but lovely section of the Thames Path National Trail.

A ten-minute walk took us to the entrance of Kew Gardens.

The Pet

We had one dog to care for here. His name was Luca, and we instantly fell in love with him!

Luca was really friendly, walked well off leash, hardly ever barked, and was very chilled.

There was honestly nothing not to love about Luca.

He was great company and we really enjoyed spending time with him.

Out and About

We were lucky with the weather during our stay, and as we were only there for just over a week, we didn’t stray too far from home.

The Thames Path National Trail.

The Thames Path is a walk that follows the river Thames for its entire 180-mile length from London to Gloucestershire.

It is divided into 20 main stages and takes around three weeks for a moderately fit person to complete, or six weeks for those who, having completed the walk, are mad enough to be tempted to then walk back to their original starting point.

Luckily for us, a section of the walk passed just a few minutes from where we were staying and made for a great place to take Luca for his daily walks.

Hammersmith Bridge.

Our mini section started at Hammersmith Bridge.

The Bridge, built in 1887, is one of the world’s oldest suspension bridges, and is proving to be one of Britain’s most expensive to repair!

It was completely closed to all walkers and traffic in 2019 because of fractures which were appearing in its structure.

The pedestrian edge of the bridge was reopened in 2021.

Then, earlier this year, the main carriageway was reopened, but still only for pedestrians and cyclists.

To date, there has been no date announced for when motor vehicles will once again be able to cross the bridge.

When the Hammersmith bridge was originally closed in 2019, it was estimated that the repairs would cost in the region of £40 million.

That estimate has now been blown out of the water.

Current estimates now stand at £250 million!!

A Trio of Old Pubs

We passed not one, not two, but three historic pubs on the short walk.

The Bulls Head, The City Barge, and The Bell & Crown.

The Bulls Head is the grandaddy of them all. It has stood in its current location since 1722.

The City Barge is the new kid on the block and has ‘only’ been there since 1786. This pub has the claim to fame that it was featured in the 1965 Beatles film ‘Help’

The Bell & Crown was first licensed in 1751.

Oliver’s Island

A tree-covered island, known as Oliver’s Island, stands in the middle of the Thames and can be seen from the path.

The island is named after Oliver Cromwell, who is said to have taken refuge there and used a secret tunnel connected to the Bulls Head Pub to get to and from dry land.

Nowadays, the Island is a refuge for the numerous types of river birds who use it as a breeding ground.

The inaccessible location ensures any eggs laid there are safe from predators.

The Ellen Reardon Drinking Fountain

Almost at the end of this section of the pathway is a large Victorian water fountain.

It is the Ellen Reardon Drinking Fountain and has stood here since 1904.

It was paid for by Miss Reardon as a lasting memorial to her deceased mother, father, and sister.

The fountain fell into disrepair over time but was fully restored by local volunteers in 2009.

Kew Railway Bridge.

To end this small section of the trail, you get a great view of the imposing Kew Railway Bridge.

The bridge was opened in 1869, and London Overground and District line trains still regularly pass over it daily.

Kew Gardens

As Kew Gardens was almost on our doorstep, we couldn’t allow the opportunity to visit to pass us by.

To be honest, we had attempted to visit once before.

We were on a house sit in Chiswick in 2021, during COVID times, when entry numbers to the gardens were strictly limited.

We are nowhere near organised enough to have thought about buying pre-booked tickets, so in our wisdom bought two from a stranger on the street.

To cut a long story short, we failed miserably.

A stroppy lady at the payment desk instantly sussed us out.

She checked the names on the tickets and looked us up and down.

She had a look in her eye as if she’d recognised us from last night’s edition of ‘Crime Watch’. Then called security to throw us out!

In hindsight, buying cheap tickets off a man in the street, with the names Mr & Mrs Patel printed on them, was always a high-risk strategy. 😅

As we arrived at the entrance this time, we were slightly concerned that there may be a Kew Gardens rogues gallery of blacklisted con-artists pinned on the canteen notice board.

Thankfully, there isn’t.

Or if there is, our ugly mugs, over time, have dropped off the list.

Replaced no doubt by more recent queue jumpers, plant pickers, fence hoppers, and other undesirables.

Thankfully, our entry to Kew Gardens this time was very different.

We flashed our genuine tickets and were waved through by a very smiley lady at the payment desk.

If you have never been to Kew Royal Botanical Gardens. You must go!

On entering, the sheer scale of the place takes your breath away.

There are over 50,000 species of plants here, and we only had one day to see them all. It was difficult to know where to start.

Towering trees lined a myriad of pathways.

Each winding past perfectly manicured grass to a different area within the gardens.

The Palm House

This is no ordinary greenhouse.

It’s an enormous Victorian structure of glass and iron.

Built between 1844 and 1848. It was designed by Decimus Burton and Richard Turner, and was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron.

Their instructions were to design a building for central London that, when built, would recreate a tropical climate needed for exotic palms to flourish.

They didn’t disappoint!

As you step inside, you’re immediately hit by the warmth and humidity of the air.

Huge palm trees inside the Palm House share the space with a diverse collection of tropical plants that originate from all over the world.

Many of these plants are endangered in their natural habitats.

Temperate House

The world’s largest Victorian glasshouse, Temperate House, was undergoing restoration when we visited. However, even with restricted access, we were able to see many of the 1200 rare and endangered plant species from Africa, Australia, Asia, and the Americas, which are housed here.

As with Palm House, Temperate House a huge iron and glass structure.

Calling these buildings ‘Greenhouses’ or ‘glasshouses’ really does not do them justice.

Built in the mid-19th century, Temperate House was designed to house temperate plants from all over the world that couldn’t survive the British climate outdoors.

To get the best view of the plants, we were able to climb the iron staircase and access the upper balconies.

From this viewpoint, it’s possible to fully admire not only the plants below, but also the amazing structure of the Temperate House.

Anything Else to see?

The water garden, the sensory garden, the Japanese garden, the rock garden, the kitchen garden, the children’s garden. the bamboo garden, guided walks, a train tour, Tai Chi classes, music festivals, gardening tips, seasonal specials, and much, much, more!

No one can say there isn’t something for everyone at Kew Gardens.

Kew Palace

As well as the gardens, there are some magnificent buildings on the grounds of Kew Gardens.

Kew Palace, built in 1631 for a wealthy Flemish merchant, is the oldest building within the Gardens.

It was originally known as the Dutch House and was used as the summer home of King George III in the 18th century.

The Great Pagoda

The Great Pagoda was closed on the day we visited but normally visitors can climb stairs inside and be treated with spectacular views across London. 

The Pagoda was designed for Kew by Sir William Chambers and completed in 1762.

It was then given as a gift to the founder of Kew Gardens, Princess Augusta.

The Treetop Walkway

To end our day, we decided to walk the Treetop walkway.

This is a walkway built amongst the tree tops, 18 metres above the ground,.

It is a great way to see Kew Gardens from a different perspective.

An excellent end to what had been a grand day out 😊

Meeting Friends

It was almost time for us to leave Chiswick, but before we did, we had arranged to meet Sheryl, a good friend and fellow sitter of ours.

Sheryl was due to meet a friend in the afternoon, so she squeezed us in for a morning coffee and catch-up chat. She is a busy lady!

We’ve known Sheryl since July 2022, having met whilst attending a sitters meet-up event.

We kept in touch and have managed to meet a few more times since then, including in December 2022, when we both happened to be in Christchurch, New Zealand.

It really is a very small world!

It is always a pleasure to meet Sheryl. We enjoyed a coffee, cake, and chit-chat in the café of the National Theatre on the South Bank, London.

Woking

We loved our stay with Luca in Chiswick, but it was only a one-week house sit, so it was soon time for us to pack our suitcases and to move on again.

Our next stop was Woking, a town in northwest Surrey.

We usually try to overlap our house sits to avoid odd night hotel stays.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible on this occasion.

This meant that before our house sit in Woking was due to start, there was a one-night gap to fill.

We decided the best option was to keep it simple and book a cheap hotel for the night.

One Night In A Travelodge

A quick Google search told us £46.99 would get us a night at a Travelodge, which was well located immediately outside Woking train station.

The hotel was what you would expect from a fifty-quid-a-night budget chain hotel.

Clean Room☑️ Comfortable Bed ☑️ Quiet ☑️

We had no complaints, all we needed was a bed for the night.

We arrived very late in the evening, and left very early the next morning.

I bet they wish all their bookings were as easy!

Second Pet & House sit in March – Woking

Our Uber ride from the Travelodge to our Woking house sit was no longer than ten minutes, but we were pleasantly surprised, in that short time, we had travelled out of the busy town centre, and arrived in the village of St John’s.

The Home

The home was the end house of a small cul-de-sac.

We were warmly welcomed by our hosts, who gave us a quick tour of their home and introduced us to their dogs, Maple & Twiglet, before rounding up their two small children and heading off for their family holiday.

The Pets

Maple & Twiglet are a very cute mother and daughter duo of dachshunds.

We loved these dogs. They were very easy to care for, rarely barked and slept downstairs in their crate.

We had to be very careful as they loved to burrow under blankets both in their cage and on the settee.

When we couldn’t set eyes on them, we had to gently poke any tiny bumps in the various blankets around the living area to be sure where they were before we dared to sit down.

There was a large garden for them to play in, but they were most happy when sleeping in the sun, either in the doorway or the conservatory.

Maple and Twiglet only had tiny legs, but could walk forever.

They were great off-leash and loved a daily run-around in the local park or alongside the canal.

Out and About

The village of St John’s is a stone’s throw from the bustling town of Woking, but couldn’t be more different.

We found ourselves in the enviable position of being able to enjoy the peacefulness of village life with its church, pub, handful of independent shops and village green, whilst also having easy access to a large town centre with all the amenities you would expect, including good transport links to London.

The Basingstoke Canal flows through the village. Following its well-kept towpath was an easy and pleasant walk which took us directly to Woking town, the gym, or the supermarket.

We walked this lovely path every single day of our stay.

Either to get to where we wanted to be, as a run for exercise, or as a more leisurely walk, enjoying all the beauty of nature, which we were lucky to have on our doorstep.

Twiglet and Maple also loved walking along the towpath. Although we did have to be on high alert!

Cyclists also used the path as a traffic-free route to town, and two tiny brown dogs sharing the path are not the easiest things to see!

Where Next?

After Woking, we are heading to Devon, where we have house sits booked in Exeter, Paignton and Exmouth.

More on that next time.

Until then, as always, thanks for taking the time to read our ramblings and to catch up on where our nomadic, house-sitting adventure is taking us.

Hugs, Colin & Karyo x