Things to Do Near Me in Richmond

We have run a restaurant in Ham, between Richmond and Kingston, since 2008, and the question we are asked most in the dining room is not about the menu — it is what to do with the afternoon before dinner. This is the honest local version, not a listings page.

Richmond Park is the anchor. Ham Gate and Richmond Gate are the two closest entrances to us, Pen Ponds is the easiest flat walk, the Isabella Plantation is at its best from late April into May, and the deer rut in autumn is worth seeing from a respectful distance. Parking inside the park fills by mid-morning at weekends.

The Thames towpath runs from Kingston Bridge past Teddington Lock and Ham Lands up to Richmond Bridge — flat, buggy-friendly and about an hour end to end at a stroll. Ham House and Garden sits right on it, and the tiny Hammerton's Ferry crosses to Marble Hill on the Twickenham side in summer.

For a town afternoon: Richmond has the Green, the theatre, the riverside terraces and Kew Gardens a short hop away; Kingston has the market place, the riverside and the Rose Theatre. Both get busy from midday at weekends, which is exactly why an early table with us at 16:00–18:00 works so well.