London is a bustling city, and there is adventure everywhere you turn. As much as I love being in the city, I’ve learned that I love going to the countryside. Where the air isn’t inherently filled with cigarette smoke everywhere you turn.
Hampton Court Palace was exactly what I needed. I learned so much history over the monarchs who lived there, and got to walk the halls and rooms of royalty. But my absolute favorite part of my visit to Hampton Court Palace was walking through the Hampton Gardens.
I first spotted the privy gardens as I was walking the rooms of William the third and his wife, Mary the second. The gardens looked so beautiful from the little window I was sitting by. I was so excited by that view, that I quickly looked at the rest of the apartment and made my way to see the gardens!
We all know that the British were colonizers, so of course the garden had a variety of plants and flowers from around the world. It turns out that Mary’s collection was made up of 2000 different species during her time. I first spotted orange trees, which she happened to have 200 of them at one time in the privy gardens.
I walked around the gardens, with the palace as part of my background. I happened to be with Skoch, and we both marveled at how beautiful our view was.
We both felt like we were transported back in time, and felt sort of noble walking through the gardens. We both started talking in British accents, and pretending as if this stroll along the palace was just another day for us. I was actually living my bridgerton dream. I moved differently through the gardens, with more ease and confidence. As if I was part of the noblest of families. Skoch and I gossiped over our fake prospects and suitors. We whispered over the scandal in the ton, making up stories and characters as we went along. I walked through the gardens with such poise and elegance, admiring the flowers. I can’t explain how much fun it was.
I wondered why this place felt so magical, and even familiar. It’s turns out, that some scenes from the Bridgerton series were filmed in the Hampton court palace gardens!
After we walked around most of the gardens, we found a smaller area. It was secluded, a brick wall separated it from the main garden. The weather was so nice and fresh, we decided to lay down at the grass and look at the sky. It was so calming to just lay and enjoy nature. Even though the occasional person would pass by, it didn’t bother me. The area was so secluded, I genuinely forgot I wasn’t in my own palace.
While I admired the beauty of the gardens, I also admired the different styles between Hampton Court Palace. I thought the history of why the two styles came together was very interesting. The older more antiqued side, the Tudor Palace, was thought to be old fashioned. When William the third and Mary the second came into power, they decided to forgo a huge rebuilding of Hampton Court. At this time, everyone was trying to compete against King Loui XIV’s Versailles. There plan was to actually demolish that whole Tudor building little by little, as they slowly constructed the modern palace. About half of the Tudor palace was demolished, and they became King William and Queen Mary’s apartments. But after Queen Mary died, the king wasn’t interested in further renovating. We ended up with a Hampton Court Palace, a mix of Tudor and baroque architecture.
I love how even though the palace has two very different styles, the color of the bricks bring these two styles together. It connects them, and it makes the whole building even more special. I really admired seeing how different the design of the brick was used, through color and shape. Below are some pictures of the architecture that I found interesting!
Farewell friends!
Theatre in London U of A 