After a much-anticipated culmination of the school year, Hever Castle was calling our names! Between bursts of solid downpour, we enjoyed the expansive and gorgeous gardens.
I know you all are well-versed at Google, so I’ll keep the facts to a minimum. Hever Castle played an interesting role in England’s most salacious portion of history, being the principle residence of the Boleyn family from 1462-1540. Anne Boleyn spent her childhood here and would later bring fame and shame upon the family name. Not yet triggering any memories from your World History classes? Anne Boleyn was the second wife of King Henry VIII and first Queen to be executed for failing to produce a male heir to the throne. Ahhhh yeah…now you remember!
Henry VIII was originally married to Catherine of Aragon, whom he divorced because she also failed to birth a male heir. But moreover, Henry and Anne were already in the throes of an affair (after he had already slept with Anne’s sister, Mary. Skeeve.). Anne refused to be Henry’s side piece, and demanded he marry her if he wanted access to her boudoir. His divorce from Catherine would take six years and change the course of European history.
The King’s relationship with Anne would cause him to break with the Pope and Catholic Church and create the Church of England, of which he made himself head. This allowed his divorce from Catherine, and began England’s shift toward Protestantism. Less than three years into their marriage, Henry accused Anne of treason. The rest is history.
In addition to brushing up on some history, I wanted to visit Hever Castle because I knew the kids would love running around the mazes! The Yew Maze was first and didn’t disappoint!
But the favorite, by far, was the Water Maze! There are large stepping stones placed above “deep water” and surrounded by reeds. The goal is to get to the grotto in the center without getting soaked by one of the hidden “obstacle” fountains!
There is only one way to “solve” the maze without getting blasted by a hidden spring. The irony of trying to stay dry in a booby-trapped water maze, during a downpour, was not lost on me.
T1 was the first to the grotto!
Some pictures are worth a thousand words, other need some explaining. In the moment captured below, T1 had just made it over a few stepping stones and was waiting around the turn. I stepped on the exact same stone and was met with our first blast of cold water from below. I jumped backwards with a fright, bumping into T2, who started to fall into the 12-inch gap between the stones. Thankfully, I had her by the hand and pulled her back up before she fell victim to the Water Maze Kraken. I think T1 was too light and too quick to set off some of the “obstacles”. Me and my elephant-stomping weren’t so lucky.
Hopefully, next time we visit Hever Castle, it will be sunny and balmy and we can hit that Water Maze in our bikinis! 😉
Use Your Accent 