If you read my blog or follow me via my social platforms regularly (thank you if that's you) then you will probably know that I am a big fan of the Tudor era. There's something for me, quite endearing about that specific time in history and specifically about King Henry VIII and the way in which he ruled. Which, when you think about it, is perhaps quite a bit strange as I certainly wouldn't have lasted that long in that time and age with a King like he was and in a world where women were seen to be far less than men.
But even so, something intrigues me about him and that time. And I also find myself fascinated with his six wives, particularly the most famous who sadly lost her head because of her marriage to the King - Queen Anne Boleyn.
I love spending time reading up about the royal Tudors and I am forever looking up different individuals that were alive and part of the royal court at the time of Henry's reign - Wikipedia is amazing for that sort of thing! It's so interesting to find buildings connected to him and his wives. Earlier this year we visited Hampton Court Palace and it was such a magical experience for me to stand in the same place that Henry VIII would have once lived. It really was such a wonderful and enchanting place to visit and not just because of how grand it was.
Following our visit to Hampton Court, I'd turned my attention towards other Tudor related places that were open for to the public and you can probably imagine my excitement when I realised that as well as visit, you could actually stay at the childhood home of Anne Boleyn - Hever Castle in Kent! And with a fifth year wedding anniversary coming up, Adam and I decided that that was exactly what we were going to do to celebrate. We're both fascinated by castles and have always wanted to stay over at one, so after Adam's parents kindly agreed to have our boys for us the weekend of our anniversary, we went all out and treated ourselves to the best room at the castle.
I was so excited when our anniversary came around - excited because we were going to stay in a castle, excited because it was Anne Boleyn's former childhood home and excited because Adam and I were getting to spend some proper quality time together (plus the sun was shining which always makes everything feel amazing doesn't it?!).
The Saturday morning that we arrived we parked our car at the Astor Wing where we were staying and then rushed off to the jousting event so that we didn't miss it. I'm so glad that we decided to go and see it as it was really, really good! The people that were doing it were brilliant (as were the horses) and were really good in character! I even managed to get a photo with King Henry himself (well, he did look a lot like him!). Have you ever seen a more happier face?!!
After the jousting Adam and I headed over to the castle, we stood back from it for a while just to take it all in and also to take a few photos. It's such a stunning castle - I could have spent so much longer standing there staring up at it and taking photos.
Inside the castle is just as magnificent as the outside, with its many rooms and grand furniture and ornaments. A lot has changed since the Tudor Era of course as it's been such a long time, but you can still get a real feel for what it might have been like during that time period. The room that is said to have been Anne Boleyn's when she was young made me feel actually quite peaceful. There's a half dome ceiling in it and the windows look out to quite beautiful and calm views below. The room is much smaller than I thought it would be and there's a bed backboard in there which says it might have belonged to Anne Boleyn but the internet seems to think that this could be a fake as the wood it's made from is newer than the Tudor period. But even so - I enjoyed looking around and reading copies of letters that Anne and King Henry wrote to each other. Their relationship seemed so romantic, despite the gory and sad end.
This room was thought to be for Henry when he stayed at Hever. 
After that, we went and found our room which totally blew us away! It really was the most incredible room that we've ever stayed in and it had completely unbeatable views of the castle. It was so peaceful and calming to just sit and look out of the window, especially when visiting times had ended and the castle just suddenly stood there in complete silence.
That night we ate at the King Henry VIII pub (which is within easy walking distance from the castle) and we had such a fantastic meal. They do amazing vegetarian options and I totally recommend eating there if you ever visit Hever. It's so lovely, but do book in advance if you go on a Saturday like we did.
After that, we headed back to the castle and we decided to go for a bit of a walk before heading back to our room and I'm so glad we did because we soon realised that there's nothing quite like walking around a castle and it grounds when there's no one else about. It was such a great way to end our fifth wedding anniversary.
The next morning after what was a very nice sleep in the huge bed and a very tasty veggie breakfast, we decided to walk around some of the gardens that we'd missed. We also got lost in a maze and then went and beat the water maze (well Adam did and I followed!). It was another really sunny day and the boy's grandparents were more than happy for us to make the most of it as they wanted to take the boys out for the day, which worked out really well. It was great to be able to spend two full days there - I really felt like we made the most of our trip and that I definitely got my Tudor fix! It was almost like a mini-holiday - I felt so chilled and content.. in fact we both did.
If you're into Tudor history or just like looking around old castles, I really really recommend Hever Castle and if you can - stay over, it's worth every penny!
A video from our weekend:
Thank you for reading. Alex xoSaveSave
