Sunday 6 November 2011

Hampton Court Palace and Bushy Park

Today I enjoyed a relaxing and informative day at Hampton Court, one of the entertaining palaces of Henry VIII. I was joined by one of my Iceni friends, Caroline.

Together we explored the Tudor kitchens and great hall, the history of Henry's wives in his quest for a son and then the Baroque half of the castle, updated by George and ??  Before they ran out of money.

From there we went outside to explore some of the gardens and the maze. There were several sections of formal gardens as well as Woodland parks. I really enjoyed the woodland parks with the exciting array autumn colours. Another highlight of the garden was a small, but as always, exciting, maze.

From there we had some lunch in the cafe - not surprisingly a pie - after all the ones we had seen in the kitchens, and then stretched our legs in Bushy Park.

Bushy Park
The feel of cold, misty rain against my face, the drag of camera bag on my shoulder.
The smell of woodsmoke and damp earth.
The bellows of horny stags sound over the top of the crunching of autumn leaves under my feet and the constant drone of traffic.
The darkening twilight, turning vivid reds and oranges to murky browns on the trees, the ground and the expansive, ground-covering ferns. The deer blend into the environment, until they startle, splash across an otherwise still stream. One stag has stolen two doe, while the alpha is chasing others. A lonesome stag returns the bellow, head tipping back, antlers along its back to release a deep, guttural mourning.
The lights of distant cars and houses seem nothing to do with this existence.

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