Hever Castle

Did you think that I was done with my posts on our London trip?  Not yet.  And this post isn't my last one either, so bare with me.

On our last day, we took a day trip to Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn.  It was in the smallest English village we visited, and I wished that we could have stayed longer to explore the area better.  As we walked up to Hever Castle, I was amazed at how stereotypical it was.  Not in a bad way, but in a you've-got-to-be-kidding type of way.

It has a moat and drawbridge!  I thought that maybe they were added later for the tourists, but in paintings of the castle from Anne Boleyn's time, you could see the moat and drawbridge.  Unbelievable!

This was actually a fairly small castle, and the interior was a mix of Tudor style and more modern styles from when the Astor family owned it early in the 20th century.  The collection of paintings was amazing.

The gardens were unexpected.  As we walked up to the castle, we saw the adorable shrubbery.

Then we walked through the huge Italianate garden.  (I told you it was unexpected!)  Supposedly, it was built to house William Waldorf Astor's collection of Italian sculptures.  It felt like we were in Italy.  (Well, what I can only assume it feels like to be in Italy.)

Since some of us were leaving the next morning, we had to head back early to pack.  But we did get to finally have afternoon tea with clotted cream!  I could not leave the country without having clotted cream!

Check back tomorrow for my last London post.