The Cahill Family: Hever Castle

Back to blogging about our England adventure! Once we left Oxford on Sunday, we traveled to Hever Castle in Kent, just south of London. Since Paul and I had already been to England once before together, we wanted to explore a new area of the country. The way we got to Hever Castle is a little round about. One day, long before our trip, I was browsing the internet, searching for new places to go in the UK. Somehow, I landed on Great Britain's tourism website and found the website for Hever Castle and their luxury Bed and Breakfast. Seeing the word "luxury" made me almost positive we would not be able to stay there, but their prices were amazingly reasonable. So, before we even had our plane tickets booked, we had booked our hotel stay at Hever Castle's Bed and Breakfast. If you are in the area, you should really consider staying there! We had a great visit and loved the chance to relax.

The front of Hever Castle

One of the things I love about Europe is their public transportation system. So easy and convenient, however it usually takes you longer to get from point A to point B than if you were driving your own car. This was the case with our travel from Oxford to Hever. Our trip started by walking from Chris and Amber's flat to the bus stop. From there we caught the local bus to downtown Oxford and then walked to bus station. Remember that we had a stroller, toddler, and all of our luggage with us. Not an easy feat! Then we took about an hour and a half bus ride from Oxford to the center of London, where we then walked to the train station. Thankfully, our train was already at the platform, so we boarded, ate our lunch and waited for the train to go. The train ride went smoothly and we had to change trains only once. Once we reached our final train stop, we hopped off the train and got into a taxi car service, which we had called and reserved in advance. From there we drove about three miles to Hever Castle, our final destination! All of that travel probably took about four hours. Mary Frances did great with it all, thankfully!

In between train 1 and train 2. Just a glimpse into
what we were traveling with.

Hever Castle and gardens was a much needed and appreciated leg of the trip. I think fatigue had started to set in for all of us, and we enjoyed opportunity to rest and take it easy. Since we were all in one hotel room, Paul and I each took 2 hour naps when Mary Frances did and we went to bed when she did at night. It was great! I wish I could get that kind of rest every day :) In addition, the grounds had so much to offer we did not feel the need to leave, except to eat dinner at night. There was a beautiful garden, lake walk, and a play ground area for Mary Frances. Not to mention we were able to tour the castle whenever we wanted. We actually wished we could have stayed longer.

Another view of the castle

We stumbled upon this swan and her nest with eggs.

Hanging out on the playground with Daddy

Now for a little background on the castle itself. It was the childhood home of Anne Bolen, the second wife of Henry VIII. If you remember your English history, Anne was beheaded after being accused of treason. The estate was later given to Anne of Cleaves, Henry's fourth wife, after their marriage was annulled. Many years later, the house fell into the hands of the Astor family who renovated the castle and added an entire wing in order to accomodate guests. The Astor suite is where we stayed.

Here are some more pictures from our time at Hever.