Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court

To flee London's concrete urban interior and get a look at the city's leafy, riverside complexion – where the crowds thin out, the air is cleaner and the landscapes become increasingly pastoral – make a beeline to Richmond, Kew and Hampton Court. Wander by the river, explore haunted Tudor palaces (Hampton Court), get lost in beautiful Kew Gardens, go deer-spotting in Richmond Park, traipse around Wimbledon Common and down a pint waterside as the sun shimmers on the Thames at sunset.