We have been having a lovely trip to the London area this time around. Well, we always seem to. My in-laws claim we bring the heat with us from Florida! It has been near 80 and sunny everyday and the humidity has never been over 50%. There has been a cool constant breeze, so perfect for me! Those of you from Florida will understand that this is perfect weather. Those here in the London area seem to think it is very hot. I will say, that it is perfect outside, but since no one has AC here, the tube and indoor places can be uncomfortable. I can’t believe all the amazing photo’s of the castle’s (sorry, not castles, houses and palace, apparently there is a difference) with blue sky and white, fluffy clouds!
We headed out to Hatfield House, and we didn’t even get to finish seeing everything! We
started our day with the House Museum Tour, some shopping, and of course the Gardens! We will have to come back another day to see the Children’s Adventure Playground and the Farm!
The House
The House Museum is amazing! This house is 400 years old, it is still lived in (well a portion of it anyway) by the family. It is truly like walking into the past. There is one section that still has the original floor and you can imagine the people who may have
Toys displayed in the armory at Hatfield House.
walked there. The grounds also includes the Old Palace that was used as a nursery for Princesses and Princes of England. (I called it a Castle and was informed that Hatfield House is a House and the Palace is a Palace and neither are Castles. King Henry VIII even owned it in 1558.
Okay, so here is the scoop, if you have really rambunctious kids little tiny ones, I would suggest that you take turns going through the house, while another adult entertains the kids. If you have school age kids ask for the Animal Quiz when you get in. The kids can search each room to answer questions and learn a little history as they go. My 6 year old was impressively good, so you know your kids and what would interest them.
I loved the kitchen and I could just imagine how many people it took to make all that food from scratch, grinding herbs and four, the pastry making room, the ovens, even a scullery!
The Gardens
The Gardens are my favorite part! There are little hidey holes where the kids get a kick out of sticking their heads through to see you, loads of amazing real grass that just screams “take your shoes off and walk on me”. For those with stroller (aka buggies for the Brits) there are paths creating a perfect place for Mommas (Mums) to get out with babies in good weather.
The sculptures change out every September, we had a great time taking pictures with them. Different gardens are open on different days. I also loved the wildflower meadows it also had some sculpture and art.
The Shops
This area had some shopping and a Cafe. The shopping was fun, the gift shop had some
reasonably priced things and also some high end things. Probably something for everyone. They had some unique toys that were very tempting to me, like “How to build a Crystal Radio just like your grandfather did”. I am wishing now that I had bought it. Also they had some great knight, and soldier play clothes. They were around 19 pounds (I don’t have the pound sign on my computer) so that is something like 35 dollars.
The Cafe was okay, the bathrooms were clean and tidy. That is always nice. There was room for strollers inside (buggies) that always makes eating easier for Mommas (Mummies). The only complaint I had was that the cafe had run out of bottles of water (aka still water). I had to hunt some down at the Sweet Shop (yeah, that was unfortunate). The cafe then ran out of trays, then utensils and it was not really very busy.
The Sweet Shop
We were traveling with a friend from the US who (like my husband) grew up in the UK. They had a great time in the sweet shop and said it took them back to their childhood. So you have to pop into the sweet shop and pick up a bit of candy (sweeties).
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