The sun finally came out today after some cloudy/drizzly days. Just one destination today - 1/2 hour walk and 2 trains to Hampton Court Palace. There is so much to see here that it will take the whole day.
It is situated beside the river, so you get a nice view on the 10 min walk over the bridge from the train station.
Palace entranceway
It has a fabulous set of large courtyards within the complex
The the walls of the clock courtyard (of course)
The fountain courtyard (of course)
I opted for the gardens first in case the day clouded over later. There were a lot of photo opportunities!
This conservatory holds the largest grapevine in the world, planted in 1768. It still produces around 270kg/year of dessert grapes which are sold at the Palace. Horse manure is the key! You can see the edge of a 'blank' garden bed just in front of it, that is where the roots are and it is left blank so they can feed and water it there.
I particularly liked all the Tudor chimney pots on the roof of the Palace.
This time, the deck chairs were free! I took one off to a shady spot and had a rest for a while and ate some snacks I brought. The grounds are huge, so you can eat your lunch in the shade or sit on a park bench in the sun or spread out a rug.
In the palace behind the chair there is a very long attractive garden on the wall (see bee photos later!) and an indoor tennis court for Real Tennis (different rules/format to current tennis). This one was built in 1625 and is still used for tournaments.
Not sure what these white thistley things were, interesting. Bee photo.
Not sure what the big bush of yellow flowers were either, they look like a dahlia flower but the leaves weren't quite right. But they were a gorgeous glowing yellow. I want some. No bees ('not two bees' hee hee).
After exhausting myself in the gardens it was time to head indoors. First sign I saw - "Chocolate Kitchen". Okey dokey.
Bizarrely in these lower areas in the middle of the complex there was a post box ....
Wouldn't you put it out near the ticket/shop building?
On to the grander rooms, there were multiple areas to visit but I was running out of time so I think I missed a couple of lots. Some of the rooms are very dark to protect the 'artefacts' so not a lot of photos.
In this dining room the white thingies on the table are actually folded napkins - supposedly a master skill at the time (see close up below)
Bathroom
Long gallery, became an 'orangery' in winter when the pots were brought inside
Henry VIII's Great Hall, bit dark for decent pics
I ran out of time and energy at this stage. If you have plenty of both you can also wander around the small village on the other side of the bridge, it looked like it had a few interesting shops.
Back on the train, where this time I touched on and off properly - didn't realise you had to touch off between the two trips, as you don't actually go through a gate - there was a stand-alone post on the platform that I didn't see. So I will have been charged for the largest fare for the first sector instead, oops.
It is situated beside the river, so you get a nice view on the 10 min walk over the bridge from the train station.
Palace entranceway
It has a fabulous set of large courtyards within the complex
I opted for the gardens first in case the day clouded over later. There were a lot of photo opportunities!
This conservatory holds the largest grapevine in the world, planted in 1768. It still produces around 270kg/year of dessert grapes which are sold at the Palace. Horse manure is the key! You can see the edge of a 'blank' garden bed just in front of it, that is where the roots are and it is left blank so they can feed and water it there.
I particularly liked all the Tudor chimney pots on the roof of the Palace.
In the palace behind the chair there is a very long attractive garden on the wall (see bee photos later!) and an indoor tennis court for Real Tennis (different rules/format to current tennis). This one was built in 1625 and is still used for tournaments.
Oh look, bee photos (actually 2 bees)
Not sure what these white thistley things were, interesting. Bee photo.
Not sure what the big bush of yellow flowers were either, they look like a dahlia flower but the leaves weren't quite right. But they were a gorgeous glowing yellow. I want some. No bees ('not two bees' hee hee).
After exhausting myself in the gardens it was time to head indoors. First sign I saw - "Chocolate Kitchen". Okey dokey.
This was the room where the final touches were put to the chocolate (which was more of a luxury than coffee and tea at the time). There were two other rooms as well just to make chocolate. Excellent prioritising, people!
Then to the kitchens, which always interest me more than grand over-decorated state rooms. There were 3 huge kitchens and multiple other preparation rooms (eg one for cutting up meat, one for game, one for large vats of 'stews')
Bizarrely in these lower areas in the middle of the complex there was a post box ....
Wouldn't you put it out near the ticket/shop building?
On to the grander rooms, there were multiple areas to visit but I was running out of time so I think I missed a couple of lots. Some of the rooms are very dark to protect the 'artefacts' so not a lot of photos.
In this dining room the white thingies on the table are actually folded napkins - supposedly a master skill at the time (see close up below)
I ran out of time and energy at this stage. If you have plenty of both you can also wander around the small village on the other side of the bridge, it looked like it had a few interesting shops.
Back on the train, where this time I touched on and off properly - didn't realise you had to touch off between the two trips, as you don't actually go through a gate - there was a stand-alone post on the platform that I didn't see. So I will have been charged for the largest fare for the first sector instead, oops.
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