MONARCHS, MISTRESSES AND MARTYRS
Follow in the footsteps of one of England's most colorful monarchs, Henry VIII, in the run-up to the 500th anniversary in 2009 of his coronation as King.
Bring Hollywood and history to life in Kent the real-life location for new movie ‘The Other Boleyn Girl', a romantic portrayal of the two Boleyn sisters and their love for Henry.
Discover why Henry was drawn to Kent for its charm and beauty - and visit the castle where Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary lived.
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Day One
When he became King, Henry inherited a wealth of castles and royal residences scattered around the country. One of these was magnificent fairy tale Leeds Castle, near Maidstone, used as a retreat by Henry who invested heavily in improvements, including exquisite windows, fireplaces and banqueting halls still on view today. At the time of Henry's accession to the throne, Leeds had been in royal hands for more than 200 years and remained Henry's property until the end of his reign. Henry and Catherine of Aragon spent a night at Leeds en route to the ‘Field of the Cloth of Gold', a meeting between Henry VIII and Francis I of France, and Henry also retreated to Leeds to escape the plague raging in London.
After a light lunch at Fairfax Hall, Leeds, we travel to the outskirts of Sevenoaks and Knole, a stately home set in a magnificent deer park - one of the Kent locations used for The Other Boleyn Girl. Knole originally belonged to Henry's aide and friend, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, with whom Henry tussled for ownership, eventually taking both Knole and Otford Palace, one of Cranmer's other Kent palaces.
Overnight stay and dinner at The Royal Oak, Sevenoaks the perfect place to relax.
Day Two
After breakfast we head to Ightham Mote, still near Sevenoaks. Rebuilt by Sir Richard Clement one of Henry's favourite servants who had the rather dubious honour of taking care of the King's personal hygiene. The interior of Ightham is beautifully decorated throughout with the emblems of Henry and Catherine of Aragon: Tudor roses, the fleur-de-lis, the Beaufort portcullis and pomegranates.
A short distance away is medieval Penshurst Place, another location used by movie makers for The Other Boleyn Girl and where Henry VIII lived while he secretly courted Anne Boleyn at Hever Castle.
Penshurst, amid picturesque countryside and ancient parkland, passed to Henry after The Duke of Buckingham, whose family had owned Penshurst for five generations, was accused of high treason and executed. Since 1552 it has been the ancestral home of the Sidney family who helped draft the Constitution for Pennsylvania - later the basis of the US Constitution - and is still a much-loved family home today. See the Great Hall where nothing has changed since Henry's time.
Overnight stay and dinner at The Spa Hotel, Tunbridge Wells an elegant privately owned country mansion or Hotel du Vin, Tunbridge Wells one of the historic spa town's architectural landmarks.
Day Three
After breakfast we head for Hever Castle, the childhood home of the two Boleyn girls and perhaps the most romantic reason for Henry's frequent visits to Kent. Little was recorded of Henry's amorous association with ‘The Other Boleyn Girl' Mary, sister of Anne Boleyn, who is reputed to have borne Henry an illegitimate child. The King first fell in love with Anne at Court in 1526 and visits to Hever soon followed. It is easy to imagine how the picturesque stone castle, moat and magnificent gardens would have formed a perfect backdrop for the courtship between Anne and Henry. There is a permanent exhibition in the Tudor Long Gallery on the life of Anne while other features include the bedroom where Henry is believed to have slept.
Lunch at Hever Castle before heading to Lullingstone Castle, a historic family mansion dating back to the time of Domesday, and thought to be visited frequently by Anne Boleyn and Henry. Still owned by descendants of the original owners, it is home to the UK's first ever ‘World Garden of Plants' containing plants from around the globe planted in their respective countries of origin.
Overnight stay and dinner in Bridgewood Manor, Rochester a 4 star premier hotel with a 2 AA rosette or Holiday Inn, Rochester a modern hotel with internet access and fully equipped health club.
Day Four
After breakfast we head for Rochester and the imposing fortress of Rochester Castle where Henry first met Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife, in the timbered "Old Hall", standing behind the castle on Boley Hill. Anne was taken there shortly after her arrival in England and paraded before the King at the Castle. Henry bitterly disappointed with Anne's looks called her his "Flanders Mare" and six months after the wedding, divorced her.
Henry wanted several resting places when travelling through Kent and one of these was the Priory attached to Rochester Cathedral. A private lodging was built and attached to the Priory, but on his divorce from Catherine of Aragon he ordered that all reminders of Catherine be obliterated from the Lodging.
Lunch at one of Rochester's many hostelries before leaving for Canterbury.
In Henry's time Canterbury Cathedral was one of the most important religious centres in the world, but the King's break from the Roman Catholic Church to form his own Church of England caused widespread upheaval. He ruthlessly destroyed religious buildings to suit his own needs and the Cathedral was no exception. Under Henry's orders soldiers closed all abbeys, monasteries and smashed windows and statues in the Cathedral. Henry's daughter - Mary Tudor, a staunch Catholic known as "Bloody Mary" because of the huge number of people she had put to death for their faith, had Thomas Cranmer the Archbishop of Canterbury burnt at the stake for refusing to become a Catholic.
Also in Canterbury are the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey where Henry and his men stayed as they travelled between London and the Continent and which also hosted Anne of Cleves.
Overnight stay at Abode Canterbury, a city-centre location with fabulous rooms or the Cathedral Lodge, in the beautiful and secluded grounds of Canterbury Cathedral.
For dinner try the Goods Shed where you can indulge in farmers' tasty fare, with fresh, local, organic produce.
Day Five
After breakfast we travel from Canterbury to Dover Castle. Another historic attraction used as a location for The Other Boleyn Girl, this is one of the largest castles in England strategically located at the shortest crossing point to continental Europe.
No fortress in the country boasts a longer history than Dover Castle, stretching back to Roman times. Henry VIII, a scheming diplomat as well as fearless warrior, faced the threat of invasion from France and Spain, so built a string of coastal fortifications using money gained from the dissolution of the monasteries. At Dover Castle the King added stone bulwarks and bastions and the remains of a gun platform can still be seen today next to Cannons Gate. Lunch will be in Castle Keep restaurant.
In the afternoon visit coastal fortresses at Deal and Walmer Castle's where Henry utilised his best architects and builders using stone taken from local quarries and disused religious buildings. Built very close together, they are symmetrical in design and form the Tudor rose shape.
Stay overnight in Deal at The Royal Hotel, steeped in history, with rooms overlooking the English Channel.
Day Six
Kent's position as England's coastal gateway to Europe has long kept the port of Dover at the heart of history. For Henry, Dover Harbour was the sailing point in 1520 when he headed for France and the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
The King, along with Cardinal Wolsey, arranged a meeting with Francis I of France, which took place in fields near the town of Guines, south of Calais, that became known as the Field of the Cloth of Gold because of Henry's extravagant tastes in camping.
Lasting two weeks, this was no ordinary camping expedition but a fabulous display of pageantry and ceremony with huge pavilions and silken tents decorated with cloth of gold, a fabric woven with thin strands of gold. Dover's jetties were enlarged to accommodate his huge fleet and among provisions were bucks from the park at Leeds Castle and cream from their dairies.
Kent's position as the nearest part of England to France makes it easy to hop across the Channel to the beautiful Nord-Pas de Calais region. Have lunch on board ship or wait and sample French gastronomic delights in one of many outstanding restaurants.
You can choose to travel with one of four top operators - Norfolkline, PO Ferries and SeaFrance to Calais, Boulogne or Dunkerque or it takes just 35 minutes with Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais.
Return for overnight stay in Dover at Ramada Inn, a modern 4 star hotel set in beautiful gardens, located just 5 minutes from the Port of Dover.
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