My theme for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is – Places I Have Been. After some contemplation I decided to limit it to Places I Have been in the UK, this is because I have been to far more places in the UK and have very limited experience of places outside of the UK. I hope you enjoy my post.

Hampton Court

Originally Hampton Court was the home of Cardinal Wolsey, who had it built in the 16th century. The issue was it attracted the attention of the King, Henry VIII, who decided he wanted it for himself. Eventually, it became one of Henry VIII’s palaces, and a lot of drama has taken place within those walls. The last monarchs to build there were, William III and Mary II (1689-1702). They requested Christopher Wren to create them a baroque palace. Throughout the Georgian/Regency era, the Palace lost favour with the Royals and in 1838, Queen Victoria allowed the palace to be opened to the public.

Hampton Court Palace is both beautiful and fascinating. I have only ever visited it once in 2015, and I am pretty sure I didn’t get to see everything as there is so much to see. If you a enjoy history, especially the Tudors then it is a must see. On our visit we were taken on a tour of part of the building and the other areas we could explore ourselves. There were re-enactments of historical events that had taken part in the palace in various rooms. Most of these involved Henry VIII’s wives and there was something with William III and Mary II, but I cannot remember the exact event. There were also actors in costume walking around the garden, which was nice.

We had a great day out there as a family and we were also blessed with great weather which I have to admit, aided to the enjoyment as the gardens were lovely to sit in. I also loved the shape of the trees in the grounds. I had to include a photo of them.

Thank you for reading.