Kew Gardens offering £1 tickets to pensioners and visitors on Universal Credit

Kew Gardens has reduced entry prices to pensioners and visitors on Universal Credit to just £1.

From today, certain customers will be able to visit the world-famous gardens and its sister site, Wakehurst in Sussex, for just a quid.

The offer is part of Kew’s Manifesto for Change, which it created in early 2020 stating that its gardens must be accessible to a wide range of audiences.

The new £1 tickets can be pre-booked online or can be bought at the gate - and visitors will need to present proof of Universal Credit or Pension Credit on arrival.

RGB Kew is also introducing a new Young Person’s ticket for 16-24 year olds which can be purchased for £9 either on the day or in advance of a visit.

For families or other groups, there is also now a reduced price for early booking of £15 per adult.

Richard Deverell, director of the Royal Botanic gardens Kew, said; “We are really delighted to be able to offer more people a chance to experience the wonder of Kew and Wakehurst.

“We know what a wonderful thing it can be to enjoy a day out in nature and to explore the many corners of our gardens, take a picnic, listen to the beat of the wildlife and learn about the fascinating origins of some of our plants, many of which are extinct or threatened in the wild.

“I sincerely hope lots of people hear about this, avail of the offer and spread the word.  Everyone is welcome.”

Last year, Kew Gardens set a new world record for having the largest collection of living plants at a single-site botanic garden and features in this year’s Guinness Book of World Records.

The popular tourist attraction also holds the record for the world’s largest water lily species.

The Victoria Amazonica can grow leaves that reach a record-breaking 3m in diameter.

The gardens’ other record breaking blooms include the prickly cycad which was brought from South Africa to the UK in 1775, making it the world’s oldest surviving plant, and the Nymphaea thermarum, which is officially the smallest water lily species in existence.