May 2. Hampton Court Palace

 Today's excursion was to Hampton Court Palace. I like a stately home, particularly the history that goes with them, and this was the first one of this trip. It's about two hours away, which is a bit dreary on motorways, on the Thames south west of London. We got there just as it opened at 10am.

These days are always pretty exhausting. Standing and looking at things seems more tiring than just walking. Fortunately, although it was busy it wasn't crowded and so easy to move about. And we had lunch in a large airy cafe which gave us a breather.

The building itself is enormous and from outside it looks like a whole village. I'll spare you the history we listened to on headsets because it's all readily available on Wikipedia but the relevant thing is that it was big to begin with and added to over several centuries by successive monarchs. The tour comes in differen bits and takes you through the kitchens, chapel and the rooms built by a couple of different kings and queens.

King's Stairs

One of Many Fireplaces in the Kitchens

After exploring the building we went to the outside cafe and had a bit of lunch. Then we walked around the gardens. First the maze - it's not that big but the paths loop back on each other and it was quite confusing. Fortunately it's simple enough you could get there by trial and error, then there was a shortcut out.

Enormously Relieved to be in the Centre

Then we circled the gardens, which were mostly very formal and lined by canals and lakes.

Privy Garden towards the South Frontage

By the afternoon we were pretty worn out and ready for the drive back.