Any advice or tips for visiting Hampton Court Palace with children? We're taking our 9-year-old grandson to London this fall, and his imagination has been caught by the "palace with the maze."
I'm going to buy a family membership to the Historic Royal Palaces charity which includes the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, and Hampton Court Palace (cost savings and no need to book timed tickets ahead). Discovered this online, and it seems like a great idea.
k.sherwood 415, I bought the HRP membership when I took two of my grandchildren to London last year, and I was so glad I did. I saved around £50+, I think. It really is a good deal. Plus, you can jump the line at places with long lines, like the Tower of London.
Definitely let your grandkid go through the outdoor maze; he will love it! The gardens are always fun to walk through as well. The palace itself is great—my grandkids loved touring it. They should enjoy a lot of it. There's one place where there is an old board game of Fox and Geese set up, and kids can actually sit down and play the game, which my grandkids did. It sounds like you just have one child with you, but one of you could play with him. It's a fun game.
You also might want to stop and have lunch or a snack in the cafe outside. We really enjoyed it there.
The train should be fun for him as well. It's not too long of a ride, and he can see the scenery as the train goes through the countryside. The train will stop in the little town of Hampton Court, where you then walk over the bridge to the palace (about a 5 minute walk). When you're done and want to go back, there is a small cafe in the town of Hampton Court where you could stop for a quick bite if he is hungry.
ETA: you might want to get him a book about Henry VIII before you go. They have a series of books called "Who Was (insert name)?" That are mini-biographies and geared towards younger kids. My grandkids loved them when they were his age, and I know they have one that's called "Who Was Henry VIII?"
My family of 4 will be making our first London visit next month and I purchased a Royal Historic Castles membership just to get in Hampton Court and the Tower. I priced tickets out online we're saving £73 on just these two outings. That's basically US$100 which makes it so worth it! I just received the cards in the mail yesterday so it took a little less than 3 weeks for overseas delivery.
The kitchens are fun, and have lately had displays installed to show what it would’ve been like while food for massive banquets was being prepared. If you’re there on a day when a costumed docent is actually roasting meat on a spit in the enormous fireplace, so much the better.
Pop into Fish Court, which now has some entries of residences and their TV dishes and antennae, but was where the Tudors’ fish arrived. Its narrow, North-South orientation kept it cool - refrigeration before there were machines to do that.
Your son might enjoy the Horribles Histories take on the Tudors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1r3qvzaOGU&list=PLRlbIiRJTXx8XTLrPXNBpa0dx_mnXNQkk
Horrible Histories is just great anyway.
The Magic Garden at Hampton Court Palace is great! Our grandchildren really enjoyed it. It has slides and is a mini castle wonderland with a dragon. Your 8 year old would enjoy it.
When I visited a couple of years ago, I used the free audio guide and it really enhanced my experience. Here’s a link to page about the guides: https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/whats-on/audio-guide-tour/
Have fun, Hampton Court is wonderful!
Thanks, all, for the excellent advice. I'm sure that we'll have a wonderful time.
Mardee and Emma, kudos for suggesting the books (I'm a former teacher and current library volunteer). I'd totally forgotten the Horrible Histories series, though I've used the "Who was..." books before. I've already bought "Little Kids, Big City - London" by Beckman and Maher. It's a choose-your-own-adventure style travel guide among London's major sights with gorgeous illustrations. Includes everything from museums and palaces to riding buses and the Tube to visiting a chippy and a football stadium. Also have on order Brassey's highly recommended "The Story of London" for some history and context. Saving them for his birthday to start preparing him. He's very excited!
