Hampton Court Palace

On my last day in England we travelled out of London to Hampton Court Palace, the setting of much political intrigue. It was the oft-married Tudor king Henry VIII who turned the country house of Thomas Wolseley into a royal residence on the banks of the River Thames. Christopher Wren and ‘Capability’ Brown later left their marks on the site and in 1838 Queen Victoria opened this Historic Royal Palace to the public.

Portrait of King Henry VIII with Prince Edward and Jane Seymour

A Very Downton Day

Once I became a fan of the popular television series Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle quickly found its way onto my travel bucket list. On my recent trip to England I not only visited the estate where the series was filmed but I also toured the scenic Oxfordshire locations that doubled as fictional Downton Village and Yew Tree Farm.

Highclere Castle, the Real Downton Abbey