I explored a festive dog-friendly gentle path set within the grounds of the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, simply 60 minutes drive from south east London.
Marking its seventeenth yr, Hever Castle and Gardens in Kent is returning for an additional yr of festivities together with a lightweight path, a fantastically embellished fortress and Santa in his grotto.
The path is about inside the grounds of Hever Castle and this yr I visited it with my household to see what it was like.
What you might want to know
When is it on till?
The gentle path is on till January 1. The Castle is open from 11:30am, and the sunshine path is available from 4pm, with the final exit at 8:30pm.
Hever Castle (Image: Emily Davison)
Where is it?
Address: Hever Rd, Hever, Edenbridge TN8 7NG
Hever Castle is situated close to Edenbridge only a 60-minute drive from south London.
The nearest practice station is Hever station.
Hever Castle Christmas tree (Image: Emily Davison)
How a lot is it?
Daytime tickets, giving company admission to the fortress between 11:30 and 6pm, cost £22 for adults and £13:50 for youngsters aged between 5 and 17.
Twilight tickets, supplying you with entry from 4pm till 8:30pm, cost £25 for adults and £15 for youngsters aged 5 to 17.
Carers and kids aged below 4 can enter free.
Hever Castle Christmas tree and ferris wheel (Image: Emily Davison)
Dog-friendly
The path can also be dog-friendly and there have been loads of dogs in attendance clad in festive jumpers on the night time. The cafés additionally present canine treats on your furry companions too.
Emily and Rosie at Hever Castle (Image: Emily Davison)
The Castle
Until January 1, 2024 Hever Castle will likely be embellished for the festive season, full with Christmas timber, garlands, twinkling lights and roaring fires to toast your self by.
Hever Castle was the previous childhood home of Henry VIII’s second spouse Anne Boleyn earlier than it turned a home for a lot of totally different households from 1557, together with the Waldegraves, the Humphreys and the Meade Waldos.
Christmas in Hever Castle (Image: Emily Davison)
The fortress itself is small and solely takes round half-hour to discover at a leisurely tempo. The totally different rooms are embellished in several color schemes and themes.
The fortress closes by 7pm, so I’d suggest doing this primary earlier than beginning the sunshine path, to make sure you have sufficient time to see the fortress earlier than it closes for the night.
Christmas by the hearth in Hever Castle (Image: Emily Davison)
The gentle path
Unlike different trails I’ve been on, this trail isn’t a one-way system, however you might be provided a map firstly of the path with instructions of the place to go to to see the totally different installations.
However, a lot of the path gives an off-the-cuff strategy and permits guests to meander about as they like, though the Lost within the Forest Christmas path is one attraction because it tells a narrative so as.
In complete the path took about an hour and a half at a leisurely tempo, with a pit-stop for an compulsory sizzling chocolate.
Arches on the Hever Castle gentle path (Image: Emily Davison)
During the path you’ll see a few of Hever Castle’s well-known landmarks, from the Diana Walk to the lake lit up for Christmas.
You’ll spot a spread of installations from fashionable technicolored lights to projections of falling snowflakes.
Although I feel the star of the present needed to be the Space path, the place guests walk beneath giant installations of the totally different planets of the photo voltaic system, accompanied by atmospheric music.
This is a primary photo-taking alternative and one you don’t wish to mis.
A world of festive delights at Hever Castle (Image: Emily Davison)
The path additionally options its star attraction this yr, which is the Lost within the Festive Forest path, that tells the story of Red the squirrel and Ted the misplaced bear as he tries to seek out his means home.
This path options quite a lot of lovely miniature homes and buildings lit up for Christmas, together with an array of woodland creatures you’ll be able to spot on the path.
Model home on the Hever Castle gentle path (Image: Emily Davison)
This path was whimsical and charming and it actually made me have the sturdy urge to obtain a dollhouse regardless of being aged 29.
Most of the path may be accomplished with out stairs, apart from areas across the Lake and Diana’s Walk, though a lot of the terrain is uneven resulting from it working by woodland areas.
There’s nothing garbage concerning the Hever Castle gentle path (Image: Emily Davison)
Other issues to do
-
Shop for items on the Hever Shop and Courtyard Shop, promoting every part from items to Christmas decorations, open day by day till 5:30pm.
-
Take a trip on the fairground located in entrance of Hever Castle, which contains a miniature practice, a carousel and a ferris wheel.
-
Grab a sizzling drink at one of many food stalls within the funfair or on the Moat Café or Moat Kiosk.
Reflecting on a stunning night at Hever Castle (Image: Emily Davison)
