So here you are waiting for your flight and then there is a loud blaring announcement informing you that your flight has been delayed as a result of bad weather and it will likely be six hours or more delayed. Well, there are worse places to be than Gatwick airport. So you twiddle your fingers and hope for the best. Six hours is a long time to twiddle for, so here’s a place you can visit while you wait for your next flight from Gatwick. There are many places to visit near and around the Gatwick airport that could be of interest to you and that allow you to visit for a few hours at a time without the danger of you missing your next flight. One place you may consider visiting during your layover is the Hever Castle in Kent? Rich in history and beauty, the Hever Castle spans over seven hundred years and all this is portrayed in everything you see within the castle walls. The Hever Castle was originally built in 1270 as a medieval defense castle. The Hever Castle is located in the village of Hever, Kent. In the thirteenth century a country house was built within its walls. And during the fifteenth century it was home to one of the most powerful families; the Boleyn’s. From 1462 to 1539, the Hever Castle was home to the Boleyn family (originally “Bullen”), the Castle was converted into a manor in 1462 by Geoffrey Boleyn who was the younger brother to Thomas Boleyn, the Master of Gonville Hall, Cambridge. Geoffrey added a Tudor building on the inside of the castle so as to make the Castle a home.
Thomas Boleyn inherited the Castle in 1505 and he relocated his family to live there. He lived in the Castle with his wife Lady Elizabeth Howard and their children George, Mary and Anne. The family of the Boleyn’s is of great significance to English history as Anne Boleyn became the second wife of King Henry VIII. This took a turn as England and its kings were governed by the Catholicism laws of one man, one wife. However, it is said that “Anne insisted on marrying King Henry VIII and refused to remain his mistress any longer. With the agreement to marry Anne, the King renounced the Catholic Church and this gave birth to the Church of England”. By this marriage Anne Boleyn became Queen of England, but for only one thousand days.
Thereafter, Hever Castle passed ownership to the fourth wife of King Henry VIII, Anne of Cleves and from 1557 onward it was owned by a number of owners and families. One of the recent owners of the Hever Castle was William Waldolf Astor. He invested his time, money and imagination into the Hever Castle. He renovated the Castle, worked on its gardens and even commissioned the “Tudor Village” within the Castle walls now called the “Astor Wing”. In the twenty first century the Castle became a tourist attraction with beauties to see, some of which are:
Mazes
Gardens
Lake
Anne Boleyn’s prayer books
Instruments of torture
A large Tudor painting collection
Museum of Kent Yeomanry
Oldest working portcullis
Water maze
To return to the airport from the Hever Castle get a taxi to Gatwick.
About the company:
The Walton Taxi Service is a reliable taxi service that allows ease and comfortable travel anywhere around London, they also service visitors to and from airports like Gatwick and Heathrow. For more information contact the Walton Taxi Service.