We decided to spend Sunday with a bike tour to Hampton Court. We started at Waterloo station, took a train to Richmond, meandered on antique-looking bikes along the Thames to Hampton, had lunch and spent the next five hours touring the castle and grounds. We then took a train back, exhausted. There was an option to return via a boat along the Thames, which might have been lovely on a warmer and less windy evening. Castles are hard work, for kings', servants, and tourists alike.
Jay in his cute British helmet with our guide John:
The building in the background is part of Richmond Castle (where Elizabeth I is supposed to have died). One of the buildings has the wonderful address of One, Wardrobe, Richmond Castle (that is, the first apartment/condo in the Wardrobe building of Richmond Castle -- I regret not getting a photo of the sign). According to our guide, one of the apartments in the Wardrobe is for sale, if one of my readers wants a really cool address (it probably goes for more than $1M)
We strolled along the Thames, seeing a lot of things you wouldn't see if you came either by train or car. The various manor houses were designed for people to come by boat, so the imposing fronts are toward the river. Now there are pubs at the river edge, though many of them flood regularly. We found one that has a ¨back door¨ several feet higher, to be used when the tide is high.
Here our guide is talking about the houseboats that people live in up and down the river.
After about 8 miles we came to Hampton Court. This was our first view:
Henry definitely was into making a show.
Here is the Castle proper, on the side that existed in Henry VIII's time (William and Mary remodeled about a third of it into a very different style)
Apparently the chimneys, which make it clear that every bedroom has its own fireplace -- individualized heat -- were another symbol of opulence.
After a good lunch (riding those heavy bikes into a wind was hard work, mind you), we got properly lost in the maze (any picture I took would be just of hedges and people. Here's an aerial view by someone with access to resources I don't have):
The grounds ranged from a formal English garden complete with topiary trees, to a ¨Wilderness¨ of somewhat tangled and unkempt undergrowth meant for ¨getting lost in¨, to a kitchen garden trying to reproduce all the food items grown in Henry's time, to a beautiful and beautifully fragrant rose garden (old roses smell so much better than the new ones). We got to see something billed as the oldest grapevine (I assume in England -- the French or Italians must have older ones), covering an arbor about 20 feet long.
Inside were a number of self-guided tours. The tour of the kitchens was far by the best -- the palace regularly served 600 plus the servants, and could serve 1200. We also covered Henry's life with his first wife (they did not live in this castle -- it still belonged to Woolsey at the time), and the state apartments and reign of William of Orange. Oh, and not to forget the chocolate room. Apparently William was enamored of hot chocolate, which they made starting with raw beans. As near as I could tell, this was very similar to modern Mexican hot chocolate, though perhaps without the peppers. The connection was never mentioned, even though the stirrer was called a Molinillo, just like they call it in California.
We also learned that there are apartments here that you can rent, having the run of the grounds after it closes to the public. (There is a ¨real¨ -- meaning indoor -- tennis court and a golf course on the grounds). The minimum stay is three nights though, and I'm not sure you would find that many days of interesting activities.
We wandered to the train station shortly before closing, exhausted, and also glad we aren't of royal blood and expected to wander around in these drafty buildings climbing so many stairs.
FYI, we did this with Mind The Gap Tours, which I would highly recommend.
No comments:
Post a Comment