Henry VIII is by far my favourite monarch, and the stories of his six wives do fascinate me so when we were passing through Kent, I was keen to stop off at Hever Castle - childhood home to Ann Boleyn (wifey number 2 whose head rolled over adultery charges - literally)
Run by Merlin entertainment - it has lost much of it's authenticity. As you know, I love love love a castle, a ruin or anything mildly historical. But Hever Castle itself lacks the grandeur and mystery of others I have visited. Apart from some truly stunning oak panelling, and a room that Henry slept (and probably shagged poor old Anne) in, there isn't much that set the actual castle apart.
What does set it apart are the acres of gorgeous gardens and woodland, surrounding a lake (which you can boat on, if you feel like splashing an extra £15 on top of the £14.50 entry price). The water maze was very, very fun and the Italian Garden, featuring the scultpture collection of the Astor family is absolutely gorgeous (The Astors are a very wealthy american family - John Jacob Astor was played by Victor from Young & The Restless in Titanic). I can't help but feel it would be more gorgeous if the statues weren't roped off and there weren't a plague of "keep of the grass" signs spoiling my fun.
Visiting on the right weekend, you can have-a-go at archery, as The Boy and I did, and be a spectator at a Ye Olde Jousting tournament. However by 2 in the afternoon, we'd had enough of hoardes of children, so decided to meander around the great lake (take waterproof hiking boots) before heading of home.
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