Number 34 - Hever castle
So, I had told Chloe to prepare for an early birthday surprise on 25th July. Though her birthday isn't until the end of August I have lots of friends and family in the final week of August, including Chloe's lovely little boy (my godson), so it's easy for her birthday to get lost in amongst all the excitement.
The first (and main) stop of the day was Hever castle. It's near Edenbridge in Kent and is in the middle of nowhere. It's privately owned and I got the tickets online which was slightly cheaper than buying on the door. It also meant we bypassed the rather long queue when we got there.
Friday had been torrential rain, really horrid, but amazingly Saturday was sunny and lovely. Also, the grass had miraculously dried out so my picnic plans were still on track (though I had packed a thick coat and a rain mac just in case).
It turned out that the day we happened to be visiting was the same day that the Medieval festival was taking place. Chloe was incredibly excited when she discovered this piece of news, and was rather obsessed with watching the jousting. But to start with, it was lunch time and we needed grub so we made our way to a nice soft bit of green green grass, with a view of the castle, to devour the picnic I'd put together for us.
At 2pm some Knights (in full armour) showed up outside the castle gates and then Henry VIII and Anne Boelyn made an appearance. I must say, considering Anne Boleyn was beheaded in her thirties, she was looking remarkably well for a woman in her forties. They made a little speech and then we joined the throng of the crowd as everyone marched to a huge field round the back. It really did feel like we were back in medieval times. The re-enacters outfits were quite amazing, but they must have been boiling. However seeing them up close made both me and Chloe think we'd like to try them on at some point.
On the way to the jousting field, we approached a tree lined path and were alerted to a photo op with some of the re-enacters. Loads of kids kept jumping in before us, but we eventually got our turn to have a photo with Henry VIII and his Knights. The actor playing Henry was really in character, sleazy... despite the fact his wife, Anne, was standing right next to him. I guess when you're the King you don't need to worry about people judging your behaviour. He was obviously a method actor. I definitely think I could be in line for wife number 7. I also dared to have a picture taken with the Knights who had clearly not been around a woman for quite some time. They were very excited to see me. I shall leave it at that.
We went over the hill and could see the jousting field. A merry little pipe played a tune over the loud speaker and Henry marched in followed by all the ladies in waiting and the Knights. There was a large amount of people, so getting close to the front was tricky. I decided now would be a good time drop our empty picnic basket and rug off at the car, as the field backed on to the car park. I left Chloe on the hill, and wandered down to the gate. At exactly this time, the Knights on horses decided to come through the very gate I was aiming for. Despite being a little startled, I was the only person there so got some great close up photos of the horses entering and galloping along.
With picnic basket safely back in the car, and my arm coming back to life (it was heavy) we watched a bit of jousting which I have to say was very impressive. The horses were travelling incredibly fast and the riders were having to hit targets, and pick things up with the sticks. It was really impressive. After seeing a few people dramatically hurled from their saddles we decided it would be a good time to go and see the inside of the castle, as every other person visiting Hever was in the field watching the jousting!
From the outside Hever castle looks quite contained. I can't really use the word small when it's about a million times bigger than my house but it does seem small compared to the sprawling grounds. Once inside, the rooms didn't feel overwhelmingly big, they felt comfortable and quite normal. We both agreed we could quite happily live there, though we'd need a few servants to clean and what not.
We were both surprised by how small Anne Boleyn's room was, but I guess when she lived at Hever she wasn't anyone of importance yet.
As we walked through the castle itself it started off very traditionally with coats of armour, tapestries, and dark wooden bureaus but as we wandered further inside the house became more modern, giving an idea of what it would have been like for the later inhabitants.
One of our favourite rooms was a lounge / study area where there was music playing and a little old fashioned TV showing footage of some of the previous owners at the castle, they were called the Astors. There was also a phone, you could dial a number to hear a roleplay from a gardener or architect etc which gave more info about the castle. The gardeners one said he needed to hire 100 gardeners to make sure the grounds were kept in order. We're not sure how many gardeners there are now but the grounds are enormous so there must be loads!
We both loved the downstairs sitting room, it reminded me of my Nan's decor with pale mint and pink comfy chairs, and China on the mantelpiece.
There was a nice spiral staircase which we used on exit, I love a spiral staircase and this one was in good nic.
Out of all the castles we've visited so far I think Hever had the best, and most interesting, information about its history. Obviously the story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn is fascinating in it's own right, but it was very enlightening to read who had owned the castle at what point in history, and what they had done with it. Lots of family trees too so it was easy to contextualise things. Chloe was also impressed with the amount of staff on hand to explain the history, all of which were friendly and informative.
Though we found the information about Henry VIII and all his wives very informative, I did kind of feel it inappropriate to have portraits, information and even boats named after all the other woman Henry married once Anne had lost her head. Didn't feel like she'd have been too happy about that in her family home. Although, while walking round the castle we learned that one of Henry's other wives (Anne of Cleves) owned the castle at a later date, so I guess it made sense to have her portrait in there, but surely Jane Seymour shouldn't have made an appearance!
It turns out before marrying Anne, Henry slept with her sister and had her as his mistress. We also discovered that Henry's final wife (the one who survived him) went on to marry Jane Seymour's (his third wife) brother. I mean were there no other people to marry?! Also, Henry's first wife was his brothers widow, weird...
The time, effort and money that has been invested in this castle is clear. This investment was mainly thanks to William Astor who spent a lot on it in the early twentieth century. And the money spent on it must still be high as the gardens are off the scale, absolutely spectacular!
There was a Yew Tree maze near the castle itself which we decided to give a go. The more I experimented mazes the more I realise I. Do. Not. Like. Them. Nothing against Hever's which was well kept, but they just terrify me (visions of Cedric in Goblet of Fire).
Now I love flowers and gardens, and walled gardens in particular. There are so many magical spaces to explore and wander round.
The covered archways looking out over manicured lawns were so relaxing. On the left as you walked to the castle was a wall, with moss, plants, lillies and little statues carved into the wall, and water trickling down into little ponds and pools of water. The sounds were mystical as well as everything there was to see.
The gardeners had shown their creative flair with lots of hedges shaped into different animals, some obvious, some not so obvious.
My personal favourite was the snail, then there were various birds, a lady bird, a stag, a pig, a spiral. Lots of fun!
At one part of the walled garden the wall was divided into sections and it was like a mini garden was contained in each one. All quite different with varying plants and statues. We wondered if maybe each gardner at Hever got to do what they wanted with a different section. It was very individual and we really enjoyed admiring them all.
In the middle of the gardens was a large rose garden with a host of roses of all colours. Smelled amazing and looked glorious.
I was quite partial to these lavender colour roses, I'd never seen roses that colour before But Chloe informed me she thought they were nearing the end of their life, and the colour should have been pink... oh well.
The gardens were meticulous; every angle and view had been carefully considered to inspire people.
When we were walking along the walled garden in the distance we could see pillars and archways which looked out over the lake. The whole view was stunning.
We had spotted a boat house on the way in, so decided to investigate the options, as we still had a bit of time before our next castle mission.
Though there was a queue of people we only ended up waiting about 10 minutes. The boat hut itself was adorable with lots of vintage props, and hiring a boar was very reasonable. £15 per boat for an hour and it gives you a fantastic view looking back at the gardens.
We ended up being given quite a large row boat called Elizabeth I. We felt quite safe in her, being Anne Boleyn's daughter she obviously knew her way around the place. Chloe hadn't had much luck with rowing in the past so was a bit nervous and apparently her husband is like a drill Sargent when it comes to rowing. So we took it quite leisurely.
Once we realised we'd been rowing the wrong way round, it all went swimmingly from there on in and we toddled round the lake at a nice pace. Chloe was obsessed with finding the bell buoy and ringing it, which we did.
In the middle of the lake was a red Japanese looking hut. We discovered it was actually a Japanese Tea House folly. Visitors can walk around and sit under the veranda but the interior is closed to the public. I'm not quite sure why it's there or what it used to be used for, but we rowed right up to it and it was sweet.
There was lots of birds and wildlife on the lake including some lovely lily pads. When our time was up we rowed back to the boathouse. As we got out the owner asked if we'd rowed before as he was really impressed with how the two of us had manoeuvred "such a big boat". He asked if we rowed professionally. I don't want to jump the gun, but maybe me and Chloe should be in the Olympic rowing squad?
Cost: £15 for access to the castles and gardens, and just over £12 for the gardens only. You can easily spend the whole day at Hever, so £15 is actually quite reasonable for what you get. They also offer discounts for kids, family, students and older people.
Hints and tips: The car park is free and situated quite a way from the main castle, so if your lugging picnic stuff you might have to take it quite a way.
Though lots of people take picnics Hever does have a restaurant of its own that provides tea, coffee, cake and more substantial meals.
In the summer Hever have a theatre festival which has some great options for theatre, films and comedy.
There was the opportunity to buy plants near to the entrance. All of them looked beautiful and well looked after and you can leave your purchases there until it's time to leave so you don't have to lug them around the whole castle.
You can't take photos inside the castle.
Turret score: The tower looked very impressive and robust so I would give the turrets a 10/10.
Want to know why we visited Hever castle? Check out my first blog.
