Visit to Fulham Palace Gardens

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Neither Mark nor I had visited Fulham Palace Gardens, which is introduced in the Walking London’s Parks and Gardens. We decided to visit there on 13 August.



We travelled to Putney Bridge on the District Line, and entered the garden from Bishop’s Avenue. Several tennis courts and lawn grounds were on the right side of Bishop’s Avenue. As we progressed, we found striking buildings – Coachman’s Lodge and Chauffeur’s House – appearing on our left hand. Coachman’s Lodge was designed by the Victorian architect William Butterfield, and featured mullioned and bay windows and triangle-shaped roofs: Neo-Gothic style.



Fulham Palace was closed for being used for the planned event on 13 August 2016, but we were allowed to explore the grounds on the back of the building. There were an amazing variety of shrubs and trees – horse chestnut, cedar of Lebanon, Judas tree, Maindenchair tree, Atlas cedar – thriving on the grounds. Like London’s parks, people were enjoying their time in sunny afternoon – having a picnic, playing football, doing yoga exercises and resting in the sun.



We entered the walled garden and found colourful flowers and growing fruits and vegetables on the beds and in the greenhouses. Gardeners were continually watering and replacing new plants with the dead ones. I told one of the gardeners, ‘This garden looks very beautiful. We’re enjoying strolling through here.’



After leaving the walled garden, we walked through the south edge of the Great Lawn and reached the Chapel of Fulham Palace.



The suggested walk led us to water gardens and Fulham Football Club Stadium. We turned left and followed the riverside walk. The riverside walk was flanked by trees – it was cooler than the rest of the park. We could overlook the Fulham residential village on the right hand, and access to the rose garden and see historic building buildings among the greens near Putney Bridge.

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