Like all of us, I’ve found lockdown hard. As usual at the start of the year, I was preparing for the new season with info-gathering and reorientation walks, but this all came to a shuddering end in mid-March. I live in suburbia, so that’s not really much use to me as a London guide.

The Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew make a wonderful day out away from the hustle and bustle of central London. Learn 5 new things from Blue Badge Guide Patricia Gentry on: * How the gardens evolved from hunting grounds to a private royal pleasure garden, and then into a public garden for all to appreciate * Kew Gardens’ largest champion tree * The ‘Loneliest Bachelor in the World’ * The smallest of all royal palaces in England * How Kew Gardens became a clearinghouse for rubber seeds and saved the Amazon Rainforest