Anne Boleyn's Childhood Residence: Hever Castle

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII.

Apparently fiercely pursued by the King to the extent he went against the Pope's wishes and annulled his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

The story didn't end well though.

She was beheaded by him in the end, three years after their marriage.

On a brighter note, her childhood home, Hever Castle, is a beauty.

Getting to Hever takes about an hour.
London Victoria > East Croydon > Hever (all by train).

The Castle is a 20-minute walk from Hever Station.

Enroute, you'll see all these cute cottages.

They don't even have proper walkway for people. 
Certainly made me felt like I was in the countryside.

I wore my rain boots - good choice eh?

Just when I thought I've arrived, I realized this was a pub lol.

As misleading as it looks, the name choice is undeniably suitable!

Aha!  Finally got to the entrance of the Castle and Garden.

Castle and Garden combination is £16 at the door and £15 online.
(Please note you cannot purchase online for same day tickets.)

  

This is the little courtyard inside past the Castle entrance bridge.

No photography allowed inside.

I can tell you that life would've been pretty cramped if I live here and am any taller and/or wider...

I was telling my friends that some Vancouver homes are bigger and prettier than inside this castle.

An interesting point is that the servants' rooms are all on the top floor (attic).
They are of reasonable sizes too!

Now let's take a look at the Garden!

Personally, this is worth seeing more so than the Castle.

  

Sweet couple (the two ducks) ♥

Such a dreamy spot no?  Perhaps my favourite spot in the whole garden.

I've been loving purple a lot - it's definitely a sign I should plan my lavender field trip to South of France soon.

Stick-built reindeers...or are they mooses?

This is the Italian Garden.

They have a little boat tour that goes on for 10-15 minutes.

I didn't go on as it was raining a little.

Hungry ducks excited to see humans, hoping for food.

This is where you can take the boat ride.

We have come to the end of the Garden.

In case you want to read more on the history and the making of it, click here.

This poor guy...I must tell you the story about him/her.
（For ease, let's assume she's female.)

She was alone at first (like the photo above).

Some children started throwing feeds to near her, but she didn't see.

Then all these ducks came along and grabbed all the food.

The children still tried hard to throw the food to as close to her as possible.

However, the ducks were too fast.

By the time I walked away, the poor girl still hadn't gotten any food...
>_<

If you got hungry while in the grounds, they have a restaurant.

March 28th is the day I visited.
It was also the first day of their "Main" season.

Easter event is also on (in collaboration with Lindt chocolate).
The children were doing Easter egg hunt by finding golden rabbits like this, but smaller ones.

The whole trip was a quick get away.

I left from London Victoria at 12pm and got back by 4pm.

The trains leaving Hever Station only runs every hour or so on the weekends, so make sure you know the schedule before you head over to the station or it'll be a long wait.

Easter weekend I also have a day trip planned!
I'm already excited to tell you guys all about it :)