Kew Gardens has just opened a brand new walkway which allows visitors to stroll through the treetops, 18 metres above the ground, for a birds-eye view over West London.
The steel structure, built by Marks Barfield, the architects of the London Eye, enables visitors to get up close to the various ecosystems that thrive in the canopies of Britain’s trees. Woodpeckers, squirrels, bats and a myriad of insects all live in the trees nearby.
The walkway also aims to increase our knowledge and appreciation of the crucial role trees play in our lives.
The designers of the walkway used the Fibonacci code, a 12th-century mathematical sequence connected with plant growth, in their design to make the structure look in tune with the branches of surrounding trees. Visitors can experience panoramic views of west London as they walk along the 200m circular route through a canopy of sweet chestnuts, limes and deciduous oaks.
After you have climbed down from the treetops there is still plenty more to see at Kew, at the Year of the Tree festival happening elsewhere in the gardens. A sculpture illustrates the inner workings of trees, whilst headphones hanging from a eucalyptus tree enable you to listen to the unusual sounds of water moving within trees. You can explore the further reaches of the gardens on a guided tour, or by following the Bark Trail.
