Saturday, June 25, 2016

Hampton Court - a pre birthday trip

Ha, that surprised you didn't it!!  Decided to go somewhere different today (even the guy at the train station was surprised when I bought my ticket!)

 I'm starting with a couple of photos I took as I was leaving - you can see the threatening skies above the Palace... because of these that were forecast for early afternoon, I had decided I was going to head for the gardens first, so I wouldn't get wet outside!

 in the Base Court they were dismantling seating and scaffolding from the recent Hampton Court festival that finished earlier this week.
 out into the formal gardens - the huge yew trees and the fountain


 you even learn stuff from the deckchairs!


 formal flower beds run round the garden





the Long Border (it is long!)
 pretty clouds..
 work on the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show going on, it starts at the beginning of July.
 flowers in the Long Border
dahlias...
some sort of thistly thing

 amazing views of the Palace

 told you it was long border! this is from a third of the way down


one of my favourite parts of the garden
the Privy Garden...
 it's just stunning.

 citrus trees on the terrace







 love this fountain too



 a small garden of lavendar

 there are several sunken Pond Gardens too,
 this is my favourite..
 the famous Hampton Court vine, as you see above, rumoured to be the biggest and oldest in the world.
 just love all the chimneys and turrets....


 more hidden gardens.
 and chimneys...


 this is on the top of a wall at the entrance to the privy garden

 Henry VIII in bedding plants.. 3 m tall according to the members magazine that came last week
more blooms from the borders, beautiful lilies
and poppies
 more great architecture..
 and probably the most famous image of Hampton Court that people will recognise


 I could hear the sound of music from outside... headed up to Henry VIII's apartments... a musical re-enactment of Henry's relationship with Catherine of Aragon (wife number 1) and Anne Boleyn (number 2) was taking part...

you followed the actors through the apartments to listen to each stage... great fun!

 beautiful stained glass windows
 this is Anne


back outside a Tudor Court knot garden

 wonderful old windows
 and turrets
Henry VIII's wine cellar...

and kitchens... I hadn't used one of the audio guides today but I think from memory these are bread ovens
 love the high roof to allow the smoke to escape from the cooking
 lovely narrow alleyways
 and more chimneys, lol!





back inside. more Royal apartments... can't find the guide I bought last time I went, think this is William III - fantastic painted ceiling
 and walls..
 heavily armoured walls, love the drum decorations!
 incredible tapestries on the walls (this is depicting a scene from Apostles, )

William III bedchamber


my final stop was the Rose Garden (above and here)




 with the Palace in the background

 borders in the vegetable/kitchen garden (they use a lot of the produce from this garden in their cafes and sell surplus on a Tuesday apparently!)
 in the Rose Garden, loved this statue - can just see it in Powertex... maybe not quite on this scale though!

 just look at the ruffles...
and the clouds behind her... time to head for the station and the train home!
 statues on the top of the gate posts.

and yes, the rain arrived just as I got back to the station... luckily by the time I got home to Sutton it had stopped again (didn't last long in fact)

hope you enjoyed my pre-birthday trip to Hampton Court - much as I love Kew, it is nice to see some different flowers and those chimneys are to DIE for!!

11 comments:

Miriam said...

What beautiful photos.... I definitely must visit. Looks like you had a lovely day

Little Arty Journeys said...

Brilliant photos Helen. I love the deep pink poppy, the chimneys and the informative deck chairs -it's all fabulous!!!!

Claire said...

Lovely photos - and so glad you enjoyed a change from Kew. Pleased it stayed dry for you. The palace looks wonderful - hopefully one day I might be able to visit. Claire xx

Artmadnana said...

What a wonderful, complete tour of the palace. Fabulous photos Helen and gorgeous close ups of individual flowers. The architecture is so impressive isn't it? You were very lucky to catch the musical tour too. I really love Hampton Court. Generally manage a visit every couple of years. Will you go back for the flower show? My sister will be there.

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed your birthday trip Helen, thank you. Those yew trees are amazing but have to admit the gardens a bit too formal to be my favourite. Love the painted ceiling and walls and I bet following the performers through the rooms was brilliant.

Hugs
Lesley Xx

Anonymous said...

Lovely photos Helen, feel as though I have been there, you always give such a good view of places. Can't wait to go myself now xx

sam21ski said...

Well that was certainly different, love those deck chairs, are they just for info only or can you sit in them if you need a rest? Henry VIII looks fab too in all his attire! Great shapes to some of those trees and those buildings are remarkable - TFS xx

Kirsten said...

Terrific photos, I agree with you about the chimmneys.

pearshapedcrafting said...

Oh I can feel a plan coming on…! Your photos are brilliant and I am sure I would appreciate this more now than as a teen!! Hugs, Chrisx

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I was drawn by the chimneys, too. It's amazing how each boasts a different design. And to think they paid that much attention to something that was required for function.

Did you get to see the chocolate kitchen? From what I understand, it's the only one in England.

I was really, really impressed with the various gardens. I fell in love with the Privy Garden because it was formal and structured and gorgeous. I had to enlarge each photo and each was a joy to behold.

Thanks for sharing these photos because I was simply mesmerized. SO different from Kew. Will you be going to the flower show? Didn't you go last year? Am I babbling since it's now nearly my bed time?

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

mm remember lots of this, Helen.. thanks so much for the memories.. but dont recall seeing the vineyard .. we had limited time both times how great to see a live re-enactment too!
Shaz in Oz.x #52

{Shaz in Oz – Calligraphy Cards}