Hampton Court Palace

First day of the long weekend we decided to go to Hampton Court Palace - it's about ten minutes drive from our house but we'd never been. It was where Henry the VIII lived so I guess that makes it very old. But as with all things old, there have been that many extensions over the years it 's hard to find the old parts.

One claim to fame of the palace is that it is meant to have one of the most famous mazes in the world. After experiencing it I would say it is only famous for how disappointing it is. There are so many people in it you soon realise that if you are going against the flow of people you are going the wrong way. As you near the end of it there is even a sign directing you to the centre of the maze just in cases you missed it!

Another claim to fame is that the palace has the largest grape vine in the world - it even has a Guinness Book of Records certificate to prove it. It is also (allegedly) the oldest grape vine in the world. We followed all the signs and found this......

How disappointing! No vine in sight! But as we turned away we noticed this.....

The whole glass house contains one vine that goes around everything to a length of over 200m (I think).

I'm starting to realise that I just don't appreciate old houses. I always love the gardens, as there is hundreds of years of planting and landscaping put into them, but the houses........?