Continued from Part I As you walk inside, turn to the left at the Anne Boleyn’s gateway and up the stairs you will be in Henry VIII’s Apartments. This is basically all that was left of the palace from the time of Henry VIII since the palace was modernized by subsequent kings and queens especially in the end of the 17th – beginning of 18th century by Sir Christopher Wren. The tour starts in the Great Hall, built in 1532-36, the first and largest of state rooms. Here Henry VIII had dining and entertainment for hundreds of lower courtiers and servants. In the 18th century this room was used as a theater. The walls are decorated with Flemish tapestries (woven in Brussels in 1540’s) that show scenes from life of Abraham as told in the Old Testament. The hall has stained glass windows with heraldics; gorgeous vaulted ceiling has elaborate Gothic style woodwork with pendants. Most of the tapestries throughout the apartments are from Brussels and have gold and silver threads which made them very expensive at the time and absolutely unaffordable nowadays. They used to be hung only for special occasions in Henry VIII times. As you walk through the Horn Room (which as its title suggests is decorated with horns of wild animals mainly deer), you enter the Great Watching Chamber also decorated with tapestries. The watching chamber was where Henry VIII’s bodyguards controlled access to the king. And of course, what palace doesn’t have a ghost? The Haunted gallery next door is said to be haunted by Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s wife, who was executed for adultery. In this room you can see several paintings on the walls showing the king at home and at war.

To the side is the entrance to Chapel Royal and the Royal Pew. The chapel can also be accessed from the floor below. From the apartments you enter the Royal Pew first. This is where the king and his family used to sit during the mass. The Pew is basically a balcony above the chapel. The Chapel Royal has been remodeled by several of Britain’s monarchs, and the only thing that dates back to Henry VIII’s times is the beautiful ceiling installed in 1536, that has gold bas-reliefs on blue background with "Dieu et mon droit" written along each of the arches, and angels playing musicals instruments from the ceiling.

The rest of the chapel has been redecorated for Queen Anne (1702-14) with royal symbols, crowns and cupids drawn on the walls. This is a working church and there are 3 services a day here. If you walk downstairs and look at the chapel upclose, you will also see on display paintings of the chapel in Henry VIII’s times with stained glass windows that is now hidden by a solid wood screen. Continued in Part III

Open: Mon 10:15 am – 6 pm, Tues – Sun 9:30 am – 6 pm (April – October) Prices: adults – 11.30 pounds, students – 8.50 pounds

If you get stranded in Heathrow for over 6 hours (it happened to me), register for your flight, check-in your luggage and don’t stay in the airport, but go to the Central bus station between terminals 1 and 2, and take bus 111 (it only cost 0.70 pounds) to the Hampton Court Palace.

The journey by bus takes a little over an hour and if you ask the driver, they will tell you when to get off. There is a stop right in front of the palace gates. You can also get to Hampton Court from Heathrow airport by first taking the subway to Richmond (District line (green)) and from Richmond take bus R68, but I am told that it will still take you about 45 minutes and you will pay much more than just for a bus.

If you arrived into Gatwick and would like to visit the palace, you have to take a train from the South Terminal of Gatwick and change at Clapham Junction. The trains come every half an hour, first you take the train run by South Central company, then from Clapham Junction to Hampton Court trains are operated by South West Trains company. You can get a roundtrip ("return" in England) ticket at Gatwick. If you are traveling after 9:30 am you can get a significantly discounted fare, just ask. To get detailed information on prices and schedules, best place to start is National Rail website www.nationalrail.co.uk. It has links to all the rail companies in the UK, as well as some special offers and discounts to various museums and other sights in conjunction with riding a train. For example right now you can get a 2 for 1 admission to London Tower or Tate Britain if you have a valid train ticket. Once you exit the train at Hampton Court station, you have to cross the bridge and keep going straight until you hit the gates of the castle.

You will need about 2.5-3 hours for the palace and gardens, but you will really enjoy yourself. When you exit the bus, as you walk through the gates and through the park, you will see the signs to the entrance. Hampton Court Palace is a very large red brick estate with wonderfully maintained gardens and very interesting gargoyles and lions statues meeting you as you enter the palace. And inside there is so much to see. Continued in Part II