Hampton Court Palace

On By Coral WaightIn England

When I visited London in 2011, I ran out of time for everything I wanted to see, one of them being Hampton Court, Henry Vlll’s main palace. I headed out on Sunday morning to catch the train from Waterloo Station.

The London Marathon was on that day.

London Marathon

A group of us stood waiting for them to pass so that we could get to the other side of Strand but they kept coming, thousands of them, and we realised if we didn’t make a decision soon, we’d be there all day. Gritting out teeth, we headed out. One bloke gave me such a filthy look for getting in his way. I think I knocked a half a second off his time.

 Waterloo Bridge 

I found Hampton Court a strange place, in that I hadn’t realised there are actually two palaces in one: Henry’s, and then another more modern one, added by dual monarchs, King William lll and his wife, Queen Mary ll, in 1689.

Hampton Court

My memory of taking loads of photos at Hampton Court must have been awry because I’ve ended up with just bits and pieces. Actually, the whole day was a bit of a blur. Not unusual near the end of a trip, I find, or that’s my excuse.

Tower with the beautiful 16th century astronomical clock.

The Great Hall with its hammer beam ceiling and stunning tapestries.
A very royal bed chamber.

I’d be quite happy with this bathroom.

This loo is from William lll’s time. Henry’s would have been similar. Very comfortable-looking.

Royal loo.

A young woman wandered into one of the rooms in full Tudor gear as if we weren’t there, and sat down to read a book. Cameras went mad.

The kitchens were massive to cater for Henry’s lavish entertaining. This is one of the fireplaces. You can get an idea of its size by checking out the doorways next to it.

It was great wandering around the work areas. I felt like I was back there, just for the moment.

Palace work areas.

The view from the gardens looking toward William and Mary’s Baroque extension.

The gardens are massive and would have needed another day to explore properly.

Hampton Court gardens

The Royals would have been ferried up the river and entered through this gate.

I definitely need to come back to Hampton Court for another look, perhaps at the beginning of the trip, and allowing time to cross the bridge to the very pretty-looking village of East Molesey.

East Molesey

24 thoughts on “Hampton Court Palace”

  9. That makes two of us, Anabel, although I did think the signage could have been a touch more helpful. But then I’m awfully vague with signage, well, vague generally, so who knows? I’m glad I went, though. Still haven’t been to Greenwich or Richmond or Kew. Oh dear, if only Australia wasn’t so far away.

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