Away in April 2011 – Day 12 Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court, Victoria and Albert, Teddington Railway Station

Tuesday, 12 April 2011

Main focus of our travels today was Hampton Court Palace. We caught a train from Vauxhall directly there, for a small additional cost on our oyster card.

Entry to to the Palace was expensive at £14.50 each (more if you give the voluntary donation being requested) but this gave us access to both house and gardens. The Palace is not very imposing. It’s of Tudor origin, constructed by Thomas Cromwell, and was given to the public by Queen Victoria.

There were themed rooms around Henry VIII – kitchens, cellar and living quarters – and William and Mary, the young Henry and Georgian rooms. Henry VIII even appeared in person to his subjects! We found the kitchens the most interesting. A massive fire had been lit in one of the kitchen fires showing how huge joints of meat would have been skewered and cooked on a rotisserie hand cranked by a servant. The royal chapel was also lovely, particularly the way the gallery opened on the royal chambers with two royal kneelers out of sight of those assembled below.

There was a lot of topiary in the gardens – huge monkey puzzle trees had been trimmed into inverted cones and mushroom shapes at the park-like rear of the palace – and smaller cones and balls on sticks in the formal gardens. Particularly impressive were the alders(I think) trimmed and espaliered to form living fences.

Tired but undeterred we walked through Bushy Park to Teddington to catch the train back to London (rather than the shorter walk to Hampton Court Station). Bushy Park is home to wild deer who feed on the conkers from the chestnut groves lining both sides of the street. We did see some deer and followed signs which asked us not to feed them or confront them!

Train into Vauxhall and tube to Knightsbrige to the Victoria and Albert Museum for a quick 45 minutes before their closing time – just time for purchases at the shop and a quick tour of ceramics gallery.

We then walked back to Harrods to visit their food hall – picked up same caephilly cheese for our supper tonight and a tin of Harrods English Breakfast tea.

Then tube home, supper and planning for another big day tomorrow.

We should sleep well tonight!

	Hampton Court Palace [Map]		Espaliered living wall [Map]
	Henry VIII’s kitchens [Map]		Inner palace [Map]
	Monkey puzzle trees [Map]		Formal gardens [Map]
	Love the topiary [Map]		Teddington station [Map]
	The ceramics gallery at V & A [Map]		Victoria and Albert Museum [Map]