Richmond
“I always figured that tea was just gonna taste like hot brown water. And you know what? I was right. Yeah, it’s horrible. No, thank you.”
“Be honest with me. It’s a prank, right? The tea? Like when us tourist folks aren’t around, y’all know it tastes like garbage? You don’t love it. It’s pigeon sweat.”
Despite the 30-minute Tube ride out of town, Richmond is still technically a London borough. This quaint and stunningly beautiful town sits on the banks of the River Thames and was once a favorite retreat for King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, and King George III.
Henry VIll lived here until he acquired the larger and even grander Hampton Court Palace from Cardinal Wolsey. Queen Mary spent her honeymoon with Philip of Spain in the Palace in 1557. Nearly half a century later Queen Elizabeth I, who made much use of Richmond Palace, especially at Christmas, died there in March 1603. Sir Robert Carey, a cousin of the Queen, carried the news from Richmond to King James VI in Scotland, to inform him of his succession to the English throne. Today only the smallest remnants of the once grand palace survive.
The archway into the Old Palace Yard is one of the few remaining fragments of the old palace, which was destroyed under the Commonwealth in the seventeenth century (Thanks a lot Oliver Cromwell, you bellend!).
Henry VII’s Coat of Arms consisted of a standing dog and dragon holding a crest decorated with lions and fleurs de lys surmounted by a crown. Henry took the dragon of Wales as his emblem in reference to his Welsh ancestry. I couldn't find anything to explain the dog.
Today Richmond is well known for its gorgeous greens (this is Richmond Green above), but perhaps is now best known for its staring role in the hilarious Apple TV series Ted Lasso.
Standing in front of the now famous The Princes Head pub, which was renamed The Crown & Anchor in the show. Ted’s apartment is down the walkway to the right.
We sat in a cozy corner of the pub surrounded by Ted Lasso memorabilia (Amanda has a British Frontier lager and I have a Japanese Asahi lager).
The booth we’re seated in above is visible behind the cast.
The iconic bar
The iconic phone booths
The door to Ted’s apartment.
The connection with the show was super fun, but look at the photos above and below and you’ll see the true appeal of Richmond is its charm. From the moment we walked out of the train station, the city was charming. There is one “fly” in the ointment however: the city is on the final approach to Heathrow, with noisy planes passing overhead literally every 30 seconds.
After lunch we walked down the Kew Riverside Walk to see the Richmond Lock and Weir. This is the footpath over the River Thames and the lock.
The lock control house and bridge have such a Disneyland vibe, very Victorian.
Just south of the city center and overlooking the River Thames is Terrace Gardens.
In 1819, painter Joseph Mallord William Turner painted “England: Richmond Hill, on the Prince Regent’s Birthday” (above) from Terrace Garden.
The pictures simply do not do justice to the gorgeous vistas.
Twickenham Bridge
