Second day of the tour and I think I have finally acclimated to England time. It was much easier to get up this morning. I am not sure if it was more excitement for the tour or just getting back to my normal sleeping pattern. Either way the day got off to a great start.

The morning was spent visiting Ightham Mote. Although I heard it pronounced a hundred times I still cannot say it. Anyway it was a rambling medievalhouse that was updated during the Tudor time and then several times through their years up to the 20th century. Various rooms along the tour were set up in the different time periods. So we saw a great hall from medevial period, a solar from Tudor and then a couple of small bedrooms crammed in sometime in the late 20th century. An American bought it and kept it from being destroyed and he came for his allowed 14 weeks a year occasionally bringing some grandchildren along. He also had the largest pool table I have every seen. It was at least 50% bigger than what we see today. It basically took up a whole room that was the length of one of wings of the house. There was also a gabled dog house in the courtyard. They claim it is the only surviving early dog house in England (they said when but can’t remember if medevial, Tudor or Elizabethan. It was for a Saint Bernard so it was quite large. They encouraged climbing on for a photo op but I decided I would pass on the opportunity to play a dog.

The chapel in the Mote had great ceiling paintings from the Tudor period when Henry was married to Katherine. They were quite faded but still had some color.

Val and I took the tower tour which was the perfect tower tour for me, it only went up about three floors. Not vast views but we got some nice photos.

After a quick lunch at the cafe we headed back to Hever for an afternoon of enjoying the grounds and gardens. The gardens at Hever are extensive. During the Victorian age someone added a Italian collanade with a maze right in the middle. There was also a rose garden,a wonderful hedge garden cut into chess pieces, grape vine arbors, a small orchard a hand dug pond ( much bigger than you would expect) and a secret path that led up to a chrysanthemum walkway. They were all beautiful. Not sure what was my favorite but I think it was probably the chrysanthemum path. The flowers were as big as my hand and bright bold colors that really stood out from the green leaves. Val and I wandered around enjoying the views and taking pictures.

We also walked through the small village church where Anne Bolyn’s father is buried and also saw a local house with a thatched roof.

Before dinner we had another guest who spoke of Tudor clothes. She had recently discovered an alter cloth at a small church and determined that it was Tudor period cloth of silver. I didn’t understand all the references to cloth of silver or cloth of gold but basically they work gold or silver into thin strips like thread that are then woven with wool or silk to make cloth. I myself think it would be scratchy but would not have mattered because only royals got to wear or own it. The fact that it can only be royal has led her to believe it might be one of Elizabeth’s gowns. For someone who had thousands of items surprisingly they have very few items of clothing from Elizabeth. Seems there was a fire at the palace that held all her household goods.
They also said things even cloths were passed down to new queens. So Harry’s wives probably had some hand me downs.

For dinner we went to Penshurst Place which is a large manor/castle home. It was dark so not great outside pictures but made for the perfect setting for a medevial keep. When we entered the long room with the fire pit in the middle lit by candles it felt like we stepped back in time. However they quickly handed me a glass of proseco and I was glad I lived in the 21 century. Dinner was wonderful. A little less spectacular than the first night in Hever but still very nice. It was in a more modern part of the castle set up for receptions. No historians at our table tonight. We have met a wonderful group of women who have become friends on previous trips.

All in all another great day.