A Day Out at Hampton Court Palace

#hamptoncourt

Hampton Court Palace is one of the most popular day trips from London. It is easy to reach from central London. The train from Waterloo Station takes about 45 minutes. It is a pleasant if not very scenic journey. As an alternative, you can take a boat up the Thames in the warmer months which is much more scenic. It is also possible to drive there. It is actually quite well signed and easy to find. Parking is available.

When you arrive at the Hampton Court Station, you will need to cross the bridge to get to the palace. After entering the gate, you are directed to the building on your left, which holds a gift shop and the ticket office. Entrance is a bit steep but if you are going to visit the Tower of London, you can buy a combination ticket and save a little that way.

Cardinal Wolsey built Hampton Court, and one might say it led to his downfall. It was larger and more elaborate than any palace that Henry VIII owned. It is not a good idea to show up a volatile king, but the fact that he made Anne Boleyn his enemy that really was his worst move. When he was unable to obtain a divorce for the king, he signed his own death warrant. He then had the good sense to die before the king could execute him. Problem solved. Henry broke with the Catholic Church, granted himself a divorce, married Anne, and the rest is history as they say.

Anne enjoyed her time at Hampton Court; it was a sweet but all too short victory. Anne wasn’t the only one of Henry’s wives whose history is entwined with Hampton Court; her cousin Catherine Howard went from here to the Tower of London and her death (some say she has never really left Hampton Court). The last of the six wives, Catherine Parr, was married to Henry in the small Queen’s Chapel. Henry’s only son, Edward, was baptized in the Chapel Royal, and his mother, Jane Seymour, died here.

Many different options for touring are offered at Hampton Court:

Audioguide
Tudor Kitchens
Henry VIII State Apartments
The King’s Apartments
The Georgian Rooms

You pick up your guide at the information center in the Clock Court. The kitchens, in particular, are not to be missed.

Costumed Guided Tours:

Henry VIII State Apartments
The King’s Apartments (William III)
Self-Guided

It really isn’t that hard to find your way around but you do miss some of the drama without the audio guide or even better the live guides to fill you in on all the little tidbits that make these historic visits so fascinating.

You can visit things outdoors as well, the Privy Garden, the Maze and the Orangery

If you visit on the weekend, there are other tours and presentations offered. A visit to Hampton Court Palace is a whole day affair, plan accordingly. There are a couple of dining options and several great stores.

If you want to go a step farther you can rent an apartment at Hampton Court and actually stay here. The apartments can be rented through the Landmark Trust. This has always been on my bucket list but we have not done it yet. However, when I visit London, I often spend a day tour Hampton Court and I am never disappointed. Planning a visit to Hampton Court Palace should be a part of your London experience.

Staying at the Charming Aspley House Hotel Bath England

In 1830 the Duke of Wellington built a Georgian country house in Bath. It is rumored that it was so that he had a place to meet with his mistress. We decided that this would be the perfect place for us to stay while we were visiting Bath. With only twelve rooms, Apsley House Hotel could provide the personal service that we were hoping to get used to.

Joe saw the pictures of the rooms and fell in love with one with a four-poster bed and red bed hangings. Our other friend decided that she wanted the Duke of Wellingtons former room. Al and I decided that we didn’t want to spend as much as they were spending and opted for a more simple room (it turned out to be the Champagne room where the Duke and his Mistress met).

We were lucky enough to get the Web winter break which meant we had a superior room for two nights (midweek) for £160. Joe and our other friend spent £220 on their rooms. We decided that we would use the £60 we saved to pay for our dinner in Bath.



Thought it is a historic house it has all the modern amenities, ensuite bathroom, wireless internet, flat-screen TV and Molton Brown bath amenities. What more could some hedonistic vacationers ask for? Well, certainly the trouser press was a nice addition as were the two bottles of spring water on our night-stand, which were replaced when we drank any.

Our room The Champagne Room #3 is on the second floor and has a king-size bed, iron and brass headboard and matalasse coverlet with a dark, richly floral sham and curtains. The ceiling was high, at least 12 feet and we had a very pretty chandelier hanging in the center of our ceiling. A dresser, ladies chair, desk, armoire and shaving mirror made it all very comfortable.


The tea tray was just a nice addition.



When we need to order food delivery Anel ordered for us and then had a tray with plates, napkins, and silverware ready for us when the food arrived. We took the tray into the lounge where a fire was burning and used the table as our dining table.

There an honor bar where we were able to have a coke with our dinner. Newspapers, magazines, and books are available if you want to relax and enjoy the cozy atmosphere.

The larger rooms were both magnificent. Five of the rooms are really outstanding four-poster rooms, each a little different. Joe had access from his room to the rear garden and the other room had a California King sized bed and a chaise lounge. The Romance room was next door to us and it had gorgeous blue toile decoration and a four-poster canopy bed.

A car park is located in front of the house. The hotel allowed our English friends Barbara and GB to park there while we walked out to get lunch.



Breakfast is served in a beautiful room with large windows and a splendid view. There is a buffet where you begin your breakfast with juice, fresh fruit (both whole and cut up), cereal, yogurt, stewed prunes and grapefruit slices.

One of the women will ask you for your coffee, tea or hot chocolate order and then you can choose from several types of eggs with the addition of mushrooms, tomatoes, bacon, sausage and brown or white toast. They also offer kippers salmon and believe it or not American style pancakes and real maple syrup. It was all beautifully prepared and cheerfully served.

I can’t recommend this Aspley House Hotel highly enough, everything is first class. Both the owners and the managers are delightful to converse with and will go way beyond what you might expect to make sure that you have an exceptional stay. Pampering is what they do best and I felt very much like Lady Iz vacationing with Sir Al.

Newgrange Meath Ireland

I have wanted to go to Newgrange for a while and I have to say, it did not disappoint. It is one of the most spectacular places I have ever visited. We hired a driver to take us out of Dublin, if you have a car, it would be an easy drive out. 

They have a large parking lot and it is a bit of a walk to the visitor center where you learn a little about the site and buy your tickets for the tour. They have a great gift shop I have to say. 

It is another longish walk out to where the bus picks you up to take you out to the grave. You then get on the bus and are dropped at the bottom of the hill where the site sits.  Again, you need to be pretty mobile to do this tour. 

When you arrive outside the tomb, the group is divided into two, everyone can't fit inside at one time. We ended up in the second group so you are encouraged to walk around and entertain yourself while the others go inside. 

Getting inside the tomb requires walking in a bent-over position. How bent over you will be depends on how tall you are. It is rough on the back at any rate. Having said that, it is so worth it. 

It is dark inside the tomb and no photography is allowed but that is also okay since it will be seared into your brain, we were all awed and that is no exaggeration. It just boggles the mind that our ancestors created this amazing place. 

Even more amazing is the fact that twice a year the interior room is lit by the light of the sun!! Our ancestors knew quite a lot more than we can ever imagine. 

You only get a short time inside the tomb since there are groups waiting to get in so savor it. Then it is back outside for a last walk around and then back to the road for bus pickup. 

The visitor center has a museum that will give you all the information you need about the site and others like it. You can tour before you go out to the actual tomb or after, but do take the time to visit it, it is packed with information. 

I loved this visit, it was one of the highlights of a trip to Ireland which had many highlights. I highly recommend getting out to Newgrange if the opportunity presents itself.