Hampton Court

At 8 a.m., After meeting our tour guide and our driver (both of them named Peter), we climbed aboard our spacious tour bus and found a place among the comfortable high-backed seats. Then we were off , joining the light flow of traffic that was heading out of London.
As we drove along Peter the tour guide got us acquainted with one another and began to fill us in on the many points of interest we passed on the way to our first stop, Hampton Court.

Hampton Court once the royal residence of Henry VIII. It is a harmonious blend of Tudor and English Barogue architecture.

It was enlarged twice. First by Henry VIII who built the Great Hall and again in 1689 by Christopher Wren for William and Mary.

Here our tour group gathers to enter by the main entrance.

Here I am beside one the heraldic statues called 'The King's Beasts'.

Anne Boleyn's gateway leads to the clock court.

The astronomical clock installed in 1540 by Henry VIII, still keeps time. Note the intriguing zodiac symbols around the clock's face.

Inside the Queen's Apartments are many painting and tapestries from the Royal Collection.
The 1000 roomed palace is heavily panelled and has guilted ceilings.
It is surrounded by Barogue gardens filled with exotic plants and formal plant beds. The paths are lined with lime and yew trees, some planted in the time of William and Mary.