Adventures in the UK Day 8 – Hampton Court

Today is our last day of sightseeing and we saved a biggie for the end.

Hampton Court
East Molesey, Surrey

We arrived early to try to beat the crowds.

TIP: You are better off parking in one of the lots near but not at Hampton Court. Our lot cost only £6 for the whole day while Hampton Court parking charges by the hour! Not a good deal if you plan to be here an while, and in order to see everything you probably will be.

The nice thing, though, is if you prefer to come back multiple days in a row rather than try to see the whole thing in one day, your tickets are good for seven days from the date you specified when you booked them.

This is also handy if you aren’t sure which exact day you’ll be visiting the palace. I’d booked our tickets for the Wednesday, but then put it on our itinerary for Saturday. Turned out we went on Sunday because weather was better for the Hawk Conservancy on Saturday.

So that 7-day pass does give you some nice flexibility for your visit. Check it out on their website.

Like Blenheim, Hampton Court is HUGE. Hard to get it all in in one photo.

Inside the palace you will find lots of beautiful stained glass windows.

When you’re in each room, don’t forget to look UP! The ceilings are as fantastic as the windows and the woodwork.The palace is quite extensive, having been lived in and expanded by several monarchs since King Henry VIII.

There are exhibits on Henry VIII, William III, and the Georgians. I came here mostly because of the Henry VIII connection, but the other monarchs were interesting to learn about as well.Hampton Court is so big I had a hard time picturing the layout as I walked through. I think it would have been helpful to have seen an interactive floor plan that showed exactly what was where when the different monarchs lived there.

For example, I have no idea if the hallway below was walked by Henry VIII or not. It’s a beautiful hallway, but I didn’t feel like I could put myself in the historical figures shoes as much as I could at Blenheim Palace. Hampton Court feels like it has changed a lot since Henry VIII lived there, although a lot of his influence remains.

Hampton Court consists of the palace itself, but also gardens, which are extensive and gorgeous. Take a look at just a small section:

Exotic Plants Garden

Gardens behind the palace

A view from behind the palace

View of Hampton Court from the Gardens

The gardens looking toward the Thames

Gardens at the back of Hampton Court palace, looking toward the Thames

Koi pond in the center of the garden

Don’t forget to stop and look for the fish! There were some pretty big ones in the pond.

Koi in the pond

And that concludes our UK holiday! 😀 Whew! It was a busy week, but we loved every minute of it.

Now it’s time to put our feet up for a few hours and fly home. Thanks for reading!

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