Hampton Court Palace

Sunday 18 October

I had heard a lot of good things about Hampton Palace, and it certainly did not disappoint me, it even exceeded my expectations. Not your typical palace, with its architecture representing several different eras (Baroque, Tudor and Georgian…) and its history far more interesting than most.

Hampton Court has been home to many royals, the most famous being, Cardinal Worsley, Henry VIII (and some of his six wives! including Catherine Howard who was sent to her death by Henry and is said to still haunt the palace), William III and his wife Queen Mary II.

The day was one of the best value for money outings I have ever had in London. There are several tours that take people step by step through the different sections of the palace, led by people dressed in costume to represent the era of which they are talking through, you almost feel like you really have been transcended back in time and are actually there! The palace is much bigger than it looks or than I expected and has many stories to tell behind those walls I am sure! The palace gardens were enormous and so beautiful (and it’s not like I normally marvel at gardens!) I spent about 6 hours in the palace and still feel like I could go back again.

I found Hampton Court to be a very spiritual place to spend some time, and it intrigued me much more than than other palaces that I have seen in Europe. I would love to have known what life was like behind certain walls in certain times throughout the palace!