Kensington Palace Gardens Walk with Royal High Tea
What happens, in order
- Meet your guide outside Queensway Underground station
- The Italian Gardens
- The Peter Pan statue
- The Round Pond
- The Sunken Garden and Diana's statue
- Afternoon tea in the Orangery
From $172 per person
- Duration2 hours (approx.)
- At the palace10 minutes at the Sunken Garden and Diana's statue, then 45 minutes in the Orangery tea room
- Departs fromQueensway station, London W2 4RW
- Group sizeUp to 15
- Palace entryEntry is a checkout upgrade
- OperatorTop Tasting Tours
- CancellationFree up to 24 hours before
A private table at the Orangery
Booked in your name in Queen Anne's 1704 greenhouse.
Diana's statue and the Sunken Garden
The Cradle Walk view, with the story that goes with it.
The Italian Gardens and the Round Pond
Prince Albert's water garden and Queen Caroline's basin, on the way.
A thousand years of Hyde Park
From the Domesday manor to the present, told as you walk.
No more than twelve to a guide
Small enough to ask a question rather than listen to a headset.
Palace entry at checkout
Add the State Apartments to the booking if you want the rooms too.
The route through the park, and why it starts at a tube station
You meet at Queensway rather than at the palace, and that is deliberate: the walk in is half of what you are paying for. The guide takes you down to the Italian Gardens at the head of the Long Water. From there the route runs past the Peter Pan statue and the Round Pond, and finishes at the Cradle Walk above the Sunken Garden, where Diana's statue stands.
Along the way you get the thousand-year history of the park, from the Domesday manor to the present. You also get the royal families who lived in the building at the end of it. None of that is on the palace handset, because the handset is about the rooms.
Tea at the Orangery, on a table held in your name
Queen Anne had the Orangery built in 1704 to keep her citrus trees alive through the winter, and it is now where this walk finishes. The table is booked before you arrive, which at busy times is the single most useful thing this booking does. Forty-five minutes of the two hours are spent at it, with sandwiches, scones and cakes. Your guide stays to talk about the ceremony of afternoon tea while you eat.
Palace entry is an upgrade, and what that changes
The base fare covers the walk and the tea. Entry to the State Apartments is a separate option at checkout, so read that line before you compare this against anything else. It moves the real price by about twenty-five pounds a head. If you take it, you go in on your own afterwards with the multimedia guide, because no operator is allowed to guide you through those rooms. Plan your visit sets out what admission covers.
Group size, and what it feels like
Capped at fifteen, with no more than twelve to a guide, and groups typically run between two and eight. That is small enough to hear everything without a headset and small enough to ask a question while you walk, which is the part the handset cannot do.
Who this suits
Book this if
It is your first visit and you want the gardens to mean something rather than be crossed. Two hours, a guide who knows the park, Diana's statue on the route and a table waiting at the end of it. It is also the easiest way to eat at the Orangery without arranging it yourself.
Book something else if
You want a whole royal day rather than an afternoon. The guided tour with the Guard change and tea runs five and a half hours and takes in Buckingham Palace. It also includes your palace ticket as standard rather than as an upgrade.
Know before you go
- Meet at Queensway, never at the palace. Outside the station by the red phone box; getting here lists every meeting point on the site.
- Tick the entry upgrade if you want the rooms. Otherwise the booking is the gardens and the tea, which is a fine afternoon but not a palace visit.
- Gratuities and alcohol are extra. Both are bought at the venue rather than included, so bring a card.
- Some paths are uneven and there are steps. Strollers are catered for and infant seats are available; wheelchair access is not offered on this departure.
- Forty-five minutes is the tea. If you are short of time, that is the part to plan around.
- Free cancellation to 24 hours ahead. London weather being what it is, that is worth having.
Kensington Palace Tours sets this against every other way in, and afternoon tea tours compares the tables on price, privacy and whether entry is included.
What the fare covers, and what it does not
- ✓ Full afternoon tea at the Orangery beside the palace, on a private table
- ✓ Princess Diana's statue and the places in the gardens she knew, with your local guide
- ✓ The Italian Gardens
- ✓ A thousand years of Hyde Park history, from 1066 onwards
- ✓ Dedicated local guide, small group with no more than 12 per guide
- ✓ Entrance to Kensington Palace if selected at checkout
- ✗ Entry to Kensington Palace unless selected at checkout
- ✗ Gratuities
- ✗ Alcoholic drinks
What travellers said about this trip
“Royal history, recent history, and the stories behind the trees and the statues. The tea catered for a gluten-free guest without any fuss at all.”
Angela · United States · Couple · August 2026
“Our guide made sure everyone could hear, and the history arrived in stages as we walked rather than all at once. We saw more wildlife than we expected.”
Angela R. · United States · Solo traveller · October 2025
“The self-guided handset afterwards let us go at our own pace, so we got as much out of the palace as we wanted rather than being marched through it.”
Paul · United States · Couple · June 2026
Frequently asked questions
Where does it meet?
Outside Queensway Underground station, by the red phone box, and not at the palace. That is said in capitals on the booking page because visitors keep going to the gate and missing the start.
Is palace entry included?
Not in the base fare. It is an upgrade you tick at checkout, which adds roughly twenty-five pounds a head. The walk and the tea happen either way.
What is on the tea stand?
Finger sandwiches that change with the season, scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and a run of cakes. Among them is the Victoria sponge, named for the queen born in this building.
Do we share a table?
No. A private table at the Orangery is part of what this booking holds for you, which is the main practical difference between booking a tour and turning up.
How much walking is there?
About an hour, on made park paths with some uneven surfaces and steps. Strollers are catered for and infant seats are available. Wheelchair access is not offered here; for that, see the private tours.
Does the guide come into the palace?
No guide does. Historic Royal Palaces does not permit guided commentary inside the State Apartments, so if you take the entry upgrade you go in with the handset that admission includes.
Can I just book a table at the Orangery myself?
You can try, and at busy times it is difficult, which is a large part of why this product exists. The alternative is the takeaway cream tea from the Palace Cafe.
Walk the gardens, then take tea where Queen Anne kept her orange trees
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before you go on this booking, so a change of plan costs nothing.
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