Thursday 20 September 2012

A day at Hever - scavenging some more

Before going on holiday.........we had a day out at Hever Castle.....the childhood home of Anne Boleyn.....Henry V111's second wife.........and I should think she ended up wishing she'd never left there!! 

surrounded by a moat..........across the bridge is this courtyard
Sadly no photos were allowed inside........as it was a quite fascinating mix of 16th century and 20th century.......bought and restored by the Astors in the early 20th century.....they had added a lot of more 'modern touches'. 
The gardens were stunning........including the Italian garden area
beautiful waterfalls along the entire shady border
some very interesting topiary
the garden is full of statues
a topiary designed to mimic a16th century chess set
a lake where you can hire rowing boats
a maze-scavenger hunt 12 
we actually couldn't find our way out......and had to retrace our steps to the entrance!
we were joined for coffee by one of the ducks
and I managed to 'catch' scavenger hunt 14 'someone playing with a ball'
All in all......a lovely day out.......and tomorrow sees the end of Rinda's summer scavenger hunt......and a final round up of all the entries.....pop over there tomorrow to see the link up.

15 comments:

Jane said...

we've been there, I love anything to do with the Tudors!

Karen said...

Beautiful! And you found the kind of maze I was hoping to find!

Melissa said...

Lovely photos - it looks like a nice day! And some scavenger hunt photos as an extra bonus.

Susanne said...

Oh, how I would have loved a peek inside too. That topiary chess set is fantastic!

Kathyk said...

Well done on your scavenger hunt successes - Hever Castle looks fab

Happy Thursday

Kathy

Maria Ontiveros said...

Two very nice finds, and a great place to visit.
Rinda

Elizabeth said...

What a beautiful place that would be to live in. Imagine the upkeep cost would be quite a lot though.

Sian said...

I love anything to do with the Tudors too, so I've been..many years ago now. It's one of those places you always remember, though, and your photos are a fine illustration of that

humel said...

How beautiful! I've never been, but now I very much want to go :)

Amy said...

I always find it amazing that you can just duck down to the home of Anne Boleyn - well, not literally, but your proximity to history is wonderful!

Beverly said...

I love that while having a lovely day you just stumble upon hunt finds. The maze is awesome!

Irene said...

Thanks for sharing these photographs. A trip down memory lane for me too. It's a wonderful place. The maze has grown since I was there. It obviously provided you with plenty of fun and a photo opportunity.

Scrappi Sandi said...

Ooooh! I loved Hever Castle...& just down the road, Leeds Castle is well worth a visit too! :D

Jimjams said...

Gosh some great memories here - I visited Hever aeons ago and now I want to go back! TFS

Becky said...

Never Castle is on my list of places to visit next year and now I've seen your photos I want got go even more!