A celebration of Spring

We had a very successful visit to Hever Castle and  its Gardens for members and their friends.  Unfortunately, a few people had to drop out at the last moment but a group of 39 enjoyed an exciting coach trip through the narrow country lanes to get to Hever, which was almost as entertaining as the Castle and gardens.  

The gardens and castle looked beautiful.  Coincidentally a BBC camera crew were filming and there was a report about the “Garden in Bloom” on the South East Today programme the same evening. We had the opportunity to take a guided tour of the gardens with members of the Hever gardening team, which was much appreciated by those who participated. We were told a lot about the construction of the gardens to suit Lord Astor’s tastes as well as the vast variety of spring flowers on view.  Many of us took the opportunity to ask lots of questions about the plants and their upkeep.

We also had the opportunity to tour the castle using an audio guide, the rooms open at present reflect the restoration work carried out by Lord Astor.  The castle and grounds were in ruins when he purchased the property, and he spent a lot of money restoring it.  

A highlight was a Book of Hours signed by Ann Boleyn and another devotional book also owned and used by her.  Some of the group took the opportunity to do a ‘behind the scenes’ guided tour, as 5 rooms used by the Boleyn family are being refurbished to replicate how they would have looked during Ann Boleyn’s life. 

The castle also has a display of miniature houses to show how grand homes looked during different periods and how furnishing and tastes changed over time. The difference between Tudor and Georgian was most marked.

We also enjoyed all the wild fowl roaming around, the ducks were delighting in the weather, which was typical for April - showers and sunshine with a clap of thunder and some flurries of sleet thrown in but most of us managed to be inside during the rainy moments and the weather didn’t affect our enjoyment of the day.   

A very enjoyable Celebration of Spring Event.