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| Hampton Court Palace!! |
It’s a little hard for me to comprehend everything about the British monarchy. One thing that’s easy to understand about it is that it’s a big revenue producer for the UK. It’s estimated to bring in around 2.5 billion dollars in direct revenue per year and many times more than that in indirect revenue. It’s big business and right now business is good!
For our last full day in London we broke out of the routine of roaming around in the morning/early afternoon, followed by a play in the West End, before meandering back to the hotel near sunset. We had two destinations on our agenda that were located in the outskirts of the London metropolitan area and both involved “Royalty”.
Our first destination was Hampton Court Palace, which is about a thirty minute train ride from Vauxhall Station. After talking to a very helpful gentleman at the train ticket counter we decided our best option was an all day train pass for the local trains, buses and the underground (aka “The Tube”).
Hampton Court Palace was the residence of King Henry VIII back in the 1500’s. It is in the registry of “Historic Royal Palaces” that are no longer being used by the Royal Family. That’s a fancy way of saying it’s been turned into a tourist attraction.
While reading a little bit about the history of Hampton Court, I learned that originally it was built and owned by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who was King Henry VIII’s Chief Minister. Cardinal Wolsey felt he was falling out of favor with the king so he gave him the palace. I’m not sure, but maybe this was when the phrase “it’s good to be king” originated. Henry accepted the very generous gift and the huge residence and grounds became the kings. He lived there with his numerous wives and mistresses (sometimes at the same time) throughout his life. His most famous wife was Ann Boylen, who seemed to be somewhat outspoken. Henry ordered that she be arrested for treason. She was taken to the Tower of London and her head ended up in a basket, disconnected from her body!
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| A nice gift from the cardinal to the king! |
These days the beautiful grounds and palace are more tranquil and a popular place for both locals and tourists to visit. There is normally an admission fee that includes the palace and the grounds, but several times per year the grounds are open for commoners like us to visit free of charge. We were fortunate that our visit was on one of those weekends, and we were able to enjoy the grounds free of charge! I’m sure the inside of the palace is nice, but we’ve been in a few palaces in our lifetime, and on a beautiful Saturday morning we were very content to simply wander around, stopping frequently to sit and imagine what it must have been like back in the 1500’s when King Henry was ruling the roost.
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| A great bench for imagining what it must have been like in Henry’s day! The trees are “yew Trees” that are over 300 years old. |
After a few hours we took the train back into the city, getting off at the Waterloo station, which was easy since it was the end of the line. We could have taken a train directly to our afternoon destination of Kew Gardens, but we opted for a more scenic option of a ninety minute cruise from Westminster Pier. The boat ride was “non-narrated”, but the captain provided very colorful and humorous narration the entire journey.
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| On our way from the Waterloo Station to Westminster Pier we stumbled on an amazing international food market. Thankfully we had enough time for a little lunch! |
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| Rolling on the River! |
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| Rowing races were going on along the river. We passed along the four mile course where the annual Oxford vs. Cambridge race is held. |
Like Hampton Court Palace, Kew Gardens is tied to “Royality”. The 330 acres garden, and glass growing houses, are managed by the Royal Botanical Gardens and contain the world’s largest collection of plant species. We quickly toured the glasshouse gardens, which closed at five. After seeing them we slowed the pace for several hours and enjoyed the Japanese Gardens, Treetop Walk, Lake crossing, and much more before taking the train back to the city center. We made it back to the hotel as the sun was setting.
Below are some of our favorite Kew Gardens pictures:
We loved both our days in the city as well as our day exploring a few areas outside the hustle and bustle of the city center. There’s so much to see and do in this magnificent European city where the Royal Family continues to entertain and amuse.
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| London street wisdom! |
