Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace and London Tour
30th March 2025
Here at Best Value Tours we are delighted to offer, new for 2025, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace and London Tour | Best Value Tours, a fabulous tour starting with London Sightseeing, before heading out to see historic Windsor Castle and the magnificent Hampton Court Palace. More details below and you can use this link to see full details and if you choose book Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace and London Tour | Best Value Tours. But before that a little history on the splendid Hampton Court Palace.
Magnificent Hampton Court Palace in England, UK
Hampton Court Palace, a Grade I listed royal palace in Richmond upon Thames, approximately 12 miles (19 km) southwest and upstream of central London on the Thames. The palace is open to the public and managed by Historic Royal Palaces, a foundation that preserves empty royal palaces. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII’s main minister, began building the palace in 1514. After Wolsey fell out of favour in 1529, the cardinal delivered the palace to the king to preserve his life, which he knew was in danger due to Henry VIII’s growing rage. Henry soon expanded the palace to suit his vast courtier retinue, making it one of his favourite locations. William III’s ambitious renovation and extension to rival Versailles destroyed most of the Tudor palace in the early 1690s.He finished in 1694, leaving the palace in Tudor and Baroque styles. The palace’s designs are random, yet pink bricks and a symmetrical, although hazy, balancing of low wings provide coherence. Last monarch to live at the palace was George II.
In addition to the palace and gardens, visitors can explore the maze, the royal tennis court, and the world’s largest grape vine (as of 2005). The Hampton Court Palace and Garden Festivals take place in the palace’s Home Park.
Hampton Court Palace was originally owned by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. The statesman Sir Giles Daubeney leased it in 1494 after John Wode in the mid-15th century. Daubeney extended the old structures and erected the Great Kitchens, which still exist. When Daubeney died in 1508, his 14-year-old son Henry had to wait until 1514 to inherit his father’s property. He gave up his lease a month later, and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem re-leased Hampton Court to Thomas Wolsey.
Hampton Court Palace was acquired in 1514 by Archbishop of York Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII’s top minister and favourite. Wolsey paid 200,000 crowns to build Hampton Court, England’s finest palace, over seven years. Most of Wolsey’s building work has changed. His first courtyard, the Base Court, and the second, inner gatehouse that leads to the Clock Court (Wolsey’s seal remains visible over the clock tower’s entrance arch, which contained his private chambers, were his design. The Base Court had forty-four guest rooms, while the second court (now Clock Court) included the greatest rooms, the state apartments, for the king and his family. Henry VIII was Wolsey’s guest at the state apartments just after their 1525 construction.
Wolsey wanted to build a Renaissance cardinal’s palace with rectilinear symmetry, large apartments on an elevated piano nobile and classical details. According to historian Jonathan Foyle, Paolo Cortese’s 1510 cardinal handbook De Cardinalatu, which included palatial design recommendations, may have inspired Wolsey. Sir John Summerson says the palace shows “the essence of Wolsey – the plain English churchman who nevertheless made his sovereign the arbiter of Europe and who built and furnished Hampton Court to show foreign embassies that Henry VIII’s chief minister knew how to live as graciously as any cardinal in Rome. Whatever the ideas, the architecture is a rare example of a thirty-year period when English architecture smoothly transitioned from domestic Tudor, largely influenced by perpendicular Gothic, to Italian Renaissance classical. Perpendicular Gothic was unrelated to Renaissance but blended well. A few Italian craftsmen at the English court in the second and third decades of the sixteenth century blended styles. Renaissance ornamentation was their speciality in Tudor architecture. Giovanni da Maiano created the Tudor brickwork’s eight Roman emperor relief busts.
New for 2025 Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace and London Tour | Best Value Tours
London Panorama Tour
The guided trip begins with a drive to London’s most famous sights. Visit Parliament Square and the 12 statues of Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Winston Churchill. Next, we’ll pass Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square. This statue commemorates Admiral Nelson’s 1805 Trafalgar victory. Piccadilly, Hyde Park Corner, Kensington, Hampton Court Palace, and Windsor Castle follow.
Hampton Court Palace
See this spectacular royal palace in Richmond upon Thames, London, they will show you this luxurious riverside home and the State Apartments, Tudor Kitchens, and more. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII’s favoured advisor, built Hampton Court Palace in 1515.
Cardinal Wolsey, second only to the King in power at the English court, fell out of favour with Henry after he failed to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he might marry Anne Boleyn, his latest love. After Wolsey died in 1530, Henry VIII turned Hampton Court into a vast hotel, theatre, and playground to show off his wealth.
After taking the throne in 1689, William III and Mary II commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to build a grand Baroque Palace. The palace has been one of England’s most popular historic sites since Queen Victoria unveiled it in 1838. Explore the massive kitchens where cooks laboured day and night to serve Henry his poached dolphin and roasted swan. Visit the magnificent gardens and try to escape the world’s oldest maze
Expert Tip: The Hampton Court Palace host and tour guide will give you tonnes of information, but pick up a free audio guide on the way in. Remember to see the lovely gardens.
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle, King Charles III’s weekend home, is the world’s oldest and largest habitable castle. Explore the beautiful State Apartments and look for rare Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo masterpieces on the walls.
Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House features hot and cold water, electricity, and 1,500 of the 20th century’s best crafts people’s little handiwork. Discover St George’s Chapel, where Harry and Meghan married and where Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth II, and others are buried. Including snack pack Free food box on London coach tour. A quick light lunch on your travels will give you more time to explore the city. Our snack box contains a ploughman’s roll, apple, oat flapjack, cracker, chips and drink for free! Save time and money by not searching for lunch and enjoying your tour.
Schedule
Days of Operation: Thursday – Monday
Check-in Time: 8:15am
Departure Time: 8:30am
Return Time: approx. 5:30pm
Departure Point: Bus Stop 1, Bulleid Way, Victoria, London SW1W 9SR
what3words location: eager.play.forks
Directions from Victoria Station to Bulleid Way: Exit Victoria Station via the Buckingham Palace Road Entrance, to the right of the Gatwick Express platforms. Turn left and walk down Buckingham Palace Road until you reach the first main junction. When it’s safe to do so, cross the road at the traffic lights and turn left. Walk around 20 yards, before turning right into Bulleid Way. Your coach will NOT depart from Victoria Coach Station.
Drop-off Point: Gloucester Road.
Your driver will drop you off within a 2-3 minute walk of Gloucester Road Underground Station (instead of Victoria). Gloucester Road is in Zone 1 and 3 stops on the Circle and District Lines to Victoria. The Piccadilly Line also runs through Gloucester Road; it is only 5 stops to Piccadilly Circus.
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