Take advantage of the sun this weekend and take a stroll along the river to the beautiful 16th century Palace. It is an easy walk and without having to go at a fast pace, it should take you under an hour. Walking along the river is a must. You can walk along the Hampton Court Road, which is quicker, but it doesn't have the views. By taking the river route you come out directly next to the palace, so for those who have not been to Hampton Court area before, it isn’t confusing for you.
Some quick history: Hampton Court Palace was home to the Tudor King Henry VIII lived with his six wives, Henry was known for creating and establishing the Church of England.
To start your walk, head over to the river and across Kingston bridge. Once you get
to the other end of the bridge, if you are on the left hand side, you will see a bend and a road that goes down hill beside the river. Walk down this ramp and you will come out right next to the river. Then the rest of the walk is one straight, easy to follow walk way, or it has a wide cycling lane if you would rather cycle. Once you start your walk, keep in mind that there isn’t any toilets or places to stop for a drink until you get to the palace and its surrounding restaurants.
The walk has plenty of benches by the river to take in the gorgeous views, it is amazing to look at Kingston from the other side of the river too. On this riverside walk you will see lots of big houses on the opposite side. Beside you for some of the walk you can see the inside of Home Park, you can go in for a look too. This park has lots of deer, full of greenery and lakes. There are three gates along the river walk where you can enter the park for free.
When you near the end of the river walk, you can see the back of the palace through the gates and the wonderfully kept gardens of the palace. Once you get to this point you will see more and more of the palace. Then once you get to the end and can see Hampton Court Bridge then you turn right and will see the
gates to the palace.
You can walk in and up to the front of the palace but any further than that you will have to pay £26.10. But even seeing the outside of the palace is breathtaking. If you do pay to go into the palace grounds then you can see the gardens and in the summer, from the end of this month, you can go into their hedge maze.
Although, this is not all the area has to offer. If you turn right out of the palace gates you can walk to Bushy Park. This is similar to Home Park in it homing many deer, having gorgeous lakes and lots of greenery. You can walk through Bushy Park to get back to Kingston for a different route home.
But if you were to turn left out of the gates, you will have already seen a shop and some eateries, but there are more if you head over the bridge to East Molesey. You will see Hampton Court train station, and on the other side of the road you can already see the vast amount of restaurants. Some pubs and cafes seen on Bridge Road, among popular high street restaurants like Pizza Express and Zizzi’s for a student friendly budget and many higher budget restaurants. One restaurant suggestion is the Thai Siam Paragon, they have a affordable and delicious two course lunch deal for £10.95.
How to get home? You go the same way home, the Bushy Park route or you can get a bus. The bus is a TFL bus called the 411, taking oysters or contactless card payments and is only £1.65 to get back to Kingston. There are bus stops for this by Hampton Court station and by the palace. And it drops you off at either: Church Grove, Wood Street or Cromwell Road Bus Station
Comments