Hampton Court Palace

I slept in Jo and Asher’s lounge room in their little flat in Godalming overnight. In the morning we went for breakfast at
Gail’s, a favourite haunt of Jo and Asher in this beautiful little Surry township. Steve and Fiona were keen to experience this cafe in which Asher had worked as a barista when he first arrived in the UK over a year ago.
After breakfast, we drove north towards London to visit Hampton Court Palace, the famous palace of Henry VIII and his six wives. It also was
A favourite palace of the Tudors, Stuart’s, Honoverians and Georgian families of royalty.
At least half of the palace of Henry and the Tudors is still intact and can be viewed
as it would have been. But half of Henry’s palace was rebuilt by subsequent kings and Queens who needed things to be grander to compete with other European palaces like Versailles. The result is at least three distinct parts and a huge palace complex that gives insight into the lives of English monarchs and their families over 500 years.
The gardens are huge and the oldest tennis court in the world is still in operation and there is a club and there were members playing on the court, which is tennis with a smattering of squash in the rules.
The vegetable garden, the maze and the various themed gardens, fountains and water canals make the grounds well worth visiting.
We spent most of the day in the palace and its grounds in the beautiful sunny Autumn weather.
We drove back to Guildford to look at the caste and have Thai for dinner for the second time. Then back to Godalming for sleep.Read more