Raphael Kessler

Anne Boleyn was Hever Castle's most famous resident. We went to Hever Castle to celebrate Melanie's birthday. There is a bed and breakfast in the castle grounds, in the tudor buildings of the Astor Wing. The Astor family, who restored the castle and grounds to something approximating their glory days were also famous hoteliers, for example the Waldorf Astoria was one of theirs.

The bedroom was more like a suite and the interior of the bed & breakfast part is lovely, with original paintings from famous Tudor and later artists, such as Holbein and Van Dyck.

An advantage of being resident in the B&B was that once the public have left, we had the run of the grounds, without anyone else there. As none of the other guests took advantage of this, we were able to wander around as though we had taken over the whole estate for the evening. It was a lovely clear, mild night and we wandered around until the sun set.

In the morning, the weather was not as pleasant as it had been the previous day. The inside of the castle was interesting with various exhibits about its use and occupants from Tudor times to the present day. The grounds and gardens were lovely to look at though and some of the topiary was impressive and generally good fun.

The Italian Gardens are full of Roman antiquities, set around beautifully manicured gardens, with a loggia and lake.