Hever Castle: August 2012
We had decided to spend a couple of weeks on the farm in Wales. As the distance is about 1000 km we usually take a two day break in the trip. That means somewhere in Kent or Sussex as this is roughly half way and on the right (English) side of the channel. So at home we Googled the net on the look out for interesting places to visit. I let H make a list of suggestions and then we would look together for accommodation in the near.
One of the places on the list was Hever Castle, the family home of Anne Boleyn. I agreed and we started on looking for hotels, H on her iPad and I on mine. On browsing the Hever Castle web site I found that they do a five star B&B!
William Waldorf Astor, the American millionaire, bought the place in 1903 and restored the castle. To do this he built on the grounds in Tudor style cottages/houses for his staff and the workers he employed to restore the castle. This complex was now a exclusive Hotel. It was not that cheap and H was a bit hesitant at first, but what a location! One doesn’t get the chance to stay in a place like this every day, so we booked and just got the last room of 26.
We decided as with the previous trip to use the Euro tunnel as it’s quicker than the boat and the days of hovercraft are long gone. There are three trains an hour with a journey of approx. 20 minutes. The only problem was going to be driving onto and off the train as I get a bit panicky in tight manoeuvres [Ed: see ‘Kent: EuroTunnel - Sept 2012’]. It’s the same with boats and the hovercraft [Ed: see ‘Crossing the English Channel’]. The trip over was uneventful and as expected the usual mini panic on the Euro tunnel train.
Using the instructions from the Hotel we found the private entrance to the estate, rang the bell, gave our name and the gates swung open and we drove in. After a 100m drive through a wood we arrived at reception and parked [Ed: see picture left.]. The buildings looked Tudor-ish from the outside as well as from the inside.
At reception we filled in the paperwork and finally got our key and complementary tickets to allow us to enter the castle. Our room wasn’t the largest in the ‘village’ and the bed was a bit bouncy but perfectly adequate. Our backs and foreign beds don’t always see i2i.
After unpacking we went for a walk around the complex, first checking the layout making a note of the location of the breakfast room. The place has an elegant décor, the main sitting room has comfy chairs one sinked into. Arthur Conan Doyle and Evelyn Waugh were frequent visitors and had use of the room. It was not hard to imagine them being there. Astor had most of the politicians of his day visiting, as we found out when we when around the castle the next morning.
The rest of the afternoon we spent outside wandering around, we had to go through a gate to reach the public area. Astor had created an extensive Italian garden and filled it with bits and pieces gathered on European culture hunting trips, typical for the time.
We took a break for lunch and it was off to the pub on the edge of the estate for local food and beer, the first in two years. Later we sat in the sitting room, H at the writing desk writing cards, I with an English newspaper whose content didn't say anything to me, as I have lost contact with everyday life on the island.
The next morning I had kippers for breakfast, the first in decades. I have a love hate relationship with kippers the taste is lovely but the bones oh! the bones. Then, after washing them down with lots of tea, we had a look at the portraits of kings and queens hanging about in the breakfast hall, all quite impressive. As it was early, we took the chance to walk around the gardens before the public was let in, one of the perks having resident privileges.
What I hadn’t thought of, because I don’t think about things we don’t have in Germany, it was a bank holiday Monday with additional attractions to a normal weekend. There was a band playing on the forecourt, archery lessons going on, and people walking around in elaborate medieval costumes.
On entering the castle we took headphones and listened to the commentary as we went round. It was impressive getting almost first hand the family history and the tragic events leading to Anne losing her head. We saw the priest’s hole and a lock on a door that belonged to Henry VIII. When away from Hampton court he used to take his own personal locks and keys with him to mount on the door to his bed chamber just in case anyone had any funny ideas about assassination and the like. As he was often at Hever he must have left one there as a permanent fixture.
One room had historical memorabilia from and over Astor, there were names and faded pictures of the 'in crowd' of the day, two of which I mentioned above.
The tour of the castle took about an hour and a half and was well worth it. The castle has a unique collection of Holbein paintings of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn which adds to the atmosphere of the place. [Ed. see picture of the Main Hall above.]
On the grounds there is a cafeteria for meals and your typical Olde Gift Shope. It was pretty crowded due the public holiday so we went for a walk around the estate, away from the play area. After about 15 minutes walk through grottos and secluded gardens with typical naked statues in various poses, we reached an artificially created lake with a pavilion.
The pavilion was in Italian style and placed on the waters edge, not my cup of cha but I don’t have to live there. One could take out boats onto the lake but since our experience on the Grachten of Amsterdam we declined.
We decided to walk back to the castle and try to get lost in what any decent castle has - a maze. We found our way in and out again without any stress. Or shall we say embarrassment, as we didn’t have to swim against a stream of laughing joggling kids, and mothers trying to locate their siblings by shouting names and hoping for an echo. The maze was a bit tatty in places and if you hadn’t the patience to do the complete circuit one could take short cuts without ripping ones clothes to shreds. We didn’t, but plenty did. I get the impression that they think they have 'won' something by ‘cheating’, or they don’t want to get embarrassed by asking someone for directions to the exit.
The weather was holding back any rain it was thinking of dropping on us. At regular intervals what seemed like only minutes, a plane would disturb the silence on its way to Gatwick, pleasant area but the noise would get on my nerves. We live, depending on wind direction, on the landing route for Köln/Bonn airport, but we don’t have it as bad as here. So it was again down to the pub for an evening meal.
Next morning we packed and drove off direction Wales.
The stay was pleasant, a bit out or the ordinary with staying in a 'Tudor' village in an historical context.
Maybe we will do their ‘Walpurgis Night’ party/event some time, with a narrative from a professional ghost storyteller over a candlelit evening meal and then running around in the castle at midnight looking for ‘you know what / who’...
We keep getting invitations, but it would be a little stressful with flying and long taxi rides and of course one has to take into account the total cost involved for only two days.
One of the places on the list was Hever Castle, the family home of Anne Boleyn. I agreed and we started on looking for hotels, H on her iPad and I on mine. On browsing the Hever Castle web site I found that they do a five star B&B!William Waldorf Astor, the American millionaire, bought the place in 1903 and restored the castle. To do this he built on the grounds in Tudor style cottages/houses for his staff and the workers he employed to restore the castle. This complex was now a exclusive Hotel. It was not that cheap and H was a bit hesitant at first, but what a location! One doesn’t get the chance to stay in a place like this every day, so we booked and just got the last room of 26.
We decided as with the previous trip to use the Euro tunnel as it’s quicker than the boat and the days of hovercraft are long gone. There are three trains an hour with a journey of approx. 20 minutes. The only problem was going to be driving onto and off the train as I get a bit panicky in tight manoeuvres [Ed: see ‘Kent: EuroTunnel - Sept 2012’]. It’s the same with boats and the hovercraft [Ed: see ‘Crossing the English Channel’]. The trip over was uneventful and as expected the usual mini panic on the Euro tunnel train.
Using the instructions from the Hotel we found the private entrance to the estate, rang the bell, gave our name and the gates swung open and we drove in. After a 100m drive through a wood we arrived at reception and parked [Ed: see picture left.]. The buildings looked Tudor-ish from the outside as well as from the inside.
At reception we filled in the paperwork and finally got our key and complementary tickets to allow us to enter the castle. Our room wasn’t the largest in the ‘village’ and the bed was a bit bouncy but perfectly adequate. Our backs and foreign beds don’t always see i2i.
After unpacking we went for a walk around the complex, first checking the layout making a note of the location of the breakfast room. The place has an elegant décor, the main sitting room has comfy chairs one sinked into. Arthur Conan Doyle and Evelyn Waugh were frequent visitors and had use of the room. It was not hard to imagine them being there. Astor had most of the politicians of his day visiting, as we found out when we when around the castle the next morning.
The rest of the afternoon we spent outside wandering around, we had to go through a gate to reach the public area. Astor had created an extensive Italian garden and filled it with bits and pieces gathered on European culture hunting trips, typical for the time.We took a break for lunch and it was off to the pub on the edge of the estate for local food and beer, the first in two years. Later we sat in the sitting room, H at the writing desk writing cards, I with an English newspaper whose content didn't say anything to me, as I have lost contact with everyday life on the island.
The next morning I had kippers for breakfast, the first in decades. I have a love hate relationship with kippers the taste is lovely but the bones oh! the bones. Then, after washing them down with lots of tea, we had a look at the portraits of kings and queens hanging about in the breakfast hall, all quite impressive. As it was early, we took the chance to walk around the gardens before the public was let in, one of the perks having resident privileges.
What I hadn’t thought of, because I don’t think about things we don’t have in Germany, it was a bank holiday Monday with additional attractions to a normal weekend. There was a band playing on the forecourt, archery lessons going on, and people walking around in elaborate medieval costumes.
On entering the castle we took headphones and listened to the commentary as we went round. It was impressive getting almost first hand the family history and the tragic events leading to Anne losing her head. We saw the priest’s hole and a lock on a door that belonged to Henry VIII. When away from Hampton court he used to take his own personal locks and keys with him to mount on the door to his bed chamber just in case anyone had any funny ideas about assassination and the like. As he was often at Hever he must have left one there as a permanent fixture.One room had historical memorabilia from and over Astor, there were names and faded pictures of the 'in crowd' of the day, two of which I mentioned above.
The tour of the castle took about an hour and a half and was well worth it. The castle has a unique collection of Holbein paintings of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn which adds to the atmosphere of the place. [Ed. see picture of the Main Hall above.]
On the grounds there is a cafeteria for meals and your typical Olde Gift Shope. It was pretty crowded due the public holiday so we went for a walk around the estate, away from the play area. After about 15 minutes walk through grottos and secluded gardens with typical naked statues in various poses, we reached an artificially created lake with a pavilion.The pavilion was in Italian style and placed on the waters edge, not my cup of cha but I don’t have to live there. One could take out boats onto the lake but since our experience on the Grachten of Amsterdam we declined.
We decided to walk back to the castle and try to get lost in what any decent castle has - a maze. We found our way in and out again without any stress. Or shall we say embarrassment, as we didn’t have to swim against a stream of laughing joggling kids, and mothers trying to locate their siblings by shouting names and hoping for an echo. The maze was a bit tatty in places and if you hadn’t the patience to do the complete circuit one could take short cuts without ripping ones clothes to shreds. We didn’t, but plenty did. I get the impression that they think they have 'won' something by ‘cheating’, or they don’t want to get embarrassed by asking someone for directions to the exit.The weather was holding back any rain it was thinking of dropping on us. At regular intervals what seemed like only minutes, a plane would disturb the silence on its way to Gatwick, pleasant area but the noise would get on my nerves. We live, depending on wind direction, on the landing route for Köln/Bonn airport, but we don’t have it as bad as here. So it was again down to the pub for an evening meal.
Next morning we packed and drove off direction Wales.
The stay was pleasant, a bit out or the ordinary with staying in a 'Tudor' village in an historical context.Maybe we will do their ‘Walpurgis Night’ party/event some time, with a narrative from a professional ghost storyteller over a candlelit evening meal and then running around in the castle at midnight looking for ‘you know what / who’...
We keep getting invitations, but it would be a little stressful with flying and long taxi rides and of course one has to take into account the total cost involved for only two days.
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