The Princess of Fulham, move over Kate

Royal fever seems to have revved up a notch since the big wedding and every time I open a newspaper there are birthdays, parades and Garter Day Celebrations splashed across the pages with images of Kate Middleton looking gorgeous, elegant and poised in a variation of headgear.

Jess and I decided one morning while pottering around the Fulham Palace Road Garden centre (review here) that we would see the renovations that had been occurring  further down Bishop’s Avenue at the actual ‘Fulham Palace’.

This stately Palace fell into the hands of Hammersmith and Fulham Council and the Fulham Palace Trust when the Bishops ‘moved out’ so to speak in 1975. Apparently I was pushed around the beautiful grounds by my dad as a newborn baby while I was wailing and mum needed a break but unfortunately I have no recollection of this beautiful building and estate. The building itself is like a mini Hampton Court Palace accessible via a bridge over the moat and is set in a combination of landscaped grounds and woodland.  

The council and trust are claiming that “Fulham Palace will be known to all, available to all and loved by all who use it. It will be a special and distinctive place for pleasure and education.” From the mere 20 minutes we spent poking around we discovered a lovely art gallery, a sophisticated restaurant and a beautiful garden and lawn with a BBQ and families enjoying the sunshine.

It really is a very unique and charming sanctuary in the heart of bustling Fulham which by all accounts will only continue to improve. I probably shouldn’t say this for fear of boyfriend panic and meltdown but both Jess and I left saying what a wonderful place it would be to get married! We felt quite the Fulham Princesses in the cobbled courtyard and were enchanted, now only to find Prince Charming who also happens to be an SW6 enthusiast..... 

http://www.fulhampalace.org/

One afternoon, amongst the Palace gardens...

Living in the Sands End, I admit that the Fulham Palace Road and Bishops Park area is not one Sarah and I are particularly familiar with - despite the fact that Sarah's mother swears she frequently took her around Bishops Park when she was a small child. In fact, so poor was my knowledge of the area that I'm afraid I didn't even know that there was an actual Palace that gives the Fulham Palace Road its name.

Nonetheless, we were pleased to head on over to pastures new, in the name of gardening of all things, and we ended up having a really eye-opening afternoon! We went along to check out a local business that has been part of the community for donkey's years, but most importantly, is constantly giving something back to that community, and many others. The Fulham Palace Garden Centre is allied to Fairbridge (and more recently, the Princes Trust). All their profits go towards helping kids from disadvantaged areas, and shortly the centre hopes to offer apprenticeships via the Princes Trust too - meaning that they'll help several youths a year learn and productive and rewarding trade. So, safe in the knowledge that any pot-plants/barbecues/soft furnishings/ornate garden tables that we might indulge in would be totally guilt-free, we were more than happy to go and check it all out.

The centre aims to "offer everything for the town gardener", and to my (non-expert) eyes, I'd say they pretty much hit that target, as well as providing everything for the town barbecue enthusiast, interiors obsessive and much more besides. As well as your garden essentials like seeds, trellising, and chicken poo (yes, there was plenty of that, much to our infantile amusement), the shop also sells the most gorgeous cushions, candles, baking sets, and all sorts of other beautiful (quite girly) things. All of it was displayed in a really creative and appealing manner, making the Fulham Palace Garden Centre as much a gift and interiors destination as it is a gardener's delight, and I'm sure we'll be back to check out the shop fairly often.

As you might have gathered, Sarah and I are not huge gardening experts, but we loved pottering amongst the flowers and fruit trees and enjoying the view (look at sexy Garden Centre assistant Alex - I'm sure many an old lady has swooned as he's helped them with their herbaceous perennials, Sarah certainly did!). The day we were there, they were also doing a barbecue demonstration - and I can assure you that plant shopping in the sun with a glass of sangria and a barbecue cooked Blondie (white chocolate and raspberry brownie) in hand is certainly a Bank Holiday activity that I could get used to!

Fulham Palace Garden Centre
Bishops Avenue
Fulham
SW6 6EE
Website here.