Living history! (Hampton Court Palace)

Member Name: tartlette

Product:	Hampton Court Palace
Date:	16/03/06 (156 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Age, gardens, maze, so much to see

Disadvantages: Price

I love Hampton Court Palace. There's so much to see on a day out and its great for all ages. I spent a lot of time here last summer so here goes!

HISTORY

Hampton Court was originally built at the beginning of the 16th century by Cardinal Wolsey, who was basically Henry VIII's right hand man. However, when Wolsey fell from power after failing to get Henry's divorce from the Pope in 1529, Henry decided that he quite fancied the palace and took it for himself.

It remained as it had looked under Henry until William and Mary came along. They reigned at the end of the 17th century and extensively remodelled the palace (although they luckily didn't have enough money to finish it which means that we can still see some of the Tudor palace today). The gardens and the maze were also products of their reign.

The palace lost favour as a royal residence in the mid-18th century and it was opened to the public by Queen Victoria. It is now run by an organisation called Historic Royal Palaces, which also runs the Tower of London, Kensington Palace and Kew Palace.

ACCESS:

The palace is located in East Molesey. I found the train the easiest way of getting there. It takes about 35 mins from Waterloo and 30 mins from Clapham Junction (about £6). Last summer there was a bus service from central london but it took an age to reach the palace so I wouldn't recommend this. There is also a boat service from Westminster Pier but this can take up to 4 hours, so unless you like boats, don't bother! There is a car park on site but it can get busy in the summer and costs £3.50.

All areas of the palace and grounds are fully accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs.

The main problem with a visit to the palace is the price, its huge! The current cost is £12.30 for adults, £8 for children and £10 for concessions. If you are disabled you can take someone in with you for free. What you have to remember (whilst shaking as you hand over your credit card!) is that this covers absolutely everything - audioguides, guided tours, palace, gardens, maze and all exhibitions, so you can make it worthwhile. If you're planning a couple of days sightseeing in London a good tip is to buy the joint tickets which can over two or more of the Historic Royal Palaces. These give you an overall discount and also mean that you don't have to queue (a real bonus at Tower of London let me tell you!) Some advice for you if you're going - go at least 3-4 hours before closing, even then you won't see everything but at least you'll get some value. They let people in until 1 hour before but its mad to pay £12 for 1 hour! If you think you'd just like to do the maze - be warned - it is ridiculously easy - ie it usually takes less than 10 minutes and costs £3.50 on its own. Remember that its famous for being the oldest and not the biggest! Also NB the garden ticket does not include the maze and costs £4 on its own.

The palace opens from 10-6 in Summer and 10-4.30 in Winter

THE VISIT:

What I really love about Hampton Court is that it is living history. People actually still live there (although its getting less). Also you can see history develop. You can follow the route through from Wolsey right up to the 1986 fire which tore through the King's Appartments.

First of all, get an audioguide or plan to go on a guided tour. The tours are led by costumed guides which will keep the kids amused! They also provide special children's audioguides and there are trails for children and these are great for keeping them quiet!

Within the palace itself you can see Henry VIII's rooms, the King's Apartments and the Queen's apartments. The Tudor kitchens are great, especially when they have special events in them. I like the Tudor rooms the best because I love this period of history but this doesn't detract at all from the 17th century rooms which are magnificent. I love the portraits, which are fascinating, as are the tapestries which hang in the Great Hall. You can see paintings of Henry VIII and his family and a depiction of the Field of the Cloth of Gold which shows Henry wrestling with the King of France! The Chapel Royal is absolutely beautiful, very peaceful.

The gardens are lovely, especially on a hot summers day, but there's only so long I found that you could look round them unless you're a keen gardener. Everyone clambers in to see the Great Vine at the side of the garden, this is a vine from the 17th century, and while it is pretty amazing that its still growing, I don't find it all that enthralling.

The maze is great, especially with kids, but it is short. They've installed a sound system in there which speaks to you as you go round and this is nothing short of scary, saying things like 'I know your secret' in a husky voice! I don't think it really adds much to the maze but I suppose its ok for novelty value.

I really wouldn't recommend buying food or drink at the palace. It is unbelievably over-priced. Take a picnic, as you can eat this anywhere in the ground apart from the formal gardens to the rear. Much cheaper and I think its nicer as well.

On my visits I could spend 2-3 hours just looking inside the palace. This can extend if you have the audioguides because there are always extra bits that you can listen to if you want - 'if you would like to hear more press...'. There are also many different guided tours, one for each area of the palace so if you do all of them you could spend a good 4-5 hours in the palace itself. I used to spend about 1 hour in the garden and as I said the maze can take very little time. Another bonus with your ticket is that on that day you can come and go as you please so you can have a break from the palace and walk round the gardens.

I think that this place is great. People of all ages seem to love it and so do I. And it is worth the money, you just have to find a way to get the best value out of it!

Summary: Worth the money if you stay all day.