“A spectacular full day out – the staff are very friendly to babies and the buildings are reasonably baby friendly too. “

Former home of Henry VIII and later William and Mary – Hampton Court Palace is a grand day out in every sense. The buildings are huge, the history exciting, the artwork is world class and the gardens are ancient and extravagant.  There are also lots of brilliant interpretation techniques to be found here.  

Hampton Court Palace has been a rare and favourite treat for me since my own childhood, so I was very excited to be able to share it with my little daughter.  

The Tudor parts of HCP have lots of cobblestones. Depending on the model of your pram this might be tough for pushing, noisy and perhaps a bit uncomfortable for your baby. There is a buggy park just off Clock Court, you can also find lockers here and a small baby and parent room which was a kind extra. 

 We found a large room of tapestries which was very quiet. I took the opportunity to lift Lily out of her pram and let her have a little crawl about. She isn’t walking yet, but she can crawl pretty far and pretty fast. This is probably the biggest room Lily has ever been able to roam and explore freely and she loved it. She was confident, excited by the amount of space and I felt that this would be a really good opportunity for her to experience some exercise and independence. The room stewards were encouraging, and this was an unexpected highlight. There are a few one-way routes to choose from – although it is trickier to follow the one-way system while also avoiding stairs the front of house team do a lot to assist with this and make things as smooth as possible. Face coverings are required in all indoor spaces. If you have forgotten yours they sell a very pretty, but rather expensive selection at the gift shop. There are hand sanitising stations positioned sporadically – mainly in the outdoor spaces. A few of the smaller rooms, including the art gallery, royal tennis court and maze are closed at present.  If you prefer there is lots to see without needing to enter any of the buildings and the gardens have been decorated with some beautiful new willow sculptures. The jousting knights on horses were Lily’s favourite.

There are unisex baby changing facilities just off Clock Court in a disabled access loo. I am afraid to say that this is a functional, but pretty drafty and dilapidated facility. It served a purpose, but no more than that. There is a second and far nicer set of toilets in the Tilt Yard café. In addition, I was very impressed by a kind room steward who volunteered the opportunity for Lily and I to use a small concealed bathroom just off the King’s Staircase. I suspect that this facility is usually meant for the staff, and perhaps was only offered to us because we were visiting at a quiet time. However, I was really appreciative of the thoughtful offer and the willingness of the team to bend the rules a little to accommodate us (thank you, and don’t worry we won’t tell anyone!)   

There are two grand staircases at HCP with impressive fresco walls and ceilings. We weren’t able to take the stairs, but we didn’t miss out on the architecture or the artwork.  Although parts of HCP are 500 years old and other sections are just over 300 year, I am delighted to say that we were able to take Lily’s pram around the whole site and there was lift access enabling us to see everything. Access to the lift is via a staff-only area so we needed staff assistance to find and use it. This was not a problem as the front of house team were ready and waiting to help. They were keen to offer advice on travel around the building and willing to offer extra help with short-cuts and even permitting access to a few “behind the scenes” extras (such as the staff loo behind a concealed door and the reverse side of the chapel’s east window). 

There is no level access available to the gift shop in the Clock Court, this is a shame, although I was pleased to find the gift shop by the ticket hall has very similar (the same?) stock and is level access. 

We visited Hampton Court Palace for around 4 hours. We ate in the Tiltyard Café which has baby changing facilities and plenty of highchairs. There is an adorable and very popular children’s garden, complete with playground and even a fire breathing dragon. This wasn’t open during our visit, access is restricted to the summer months, but it looked very exciting and perfect for children aged about 2 years upwards. If you visit in the summer months here are some tips for visiting the Magic Garden; At the moment the garden is running at half capacity to enable better social distancing. This means that you may need to queue to enter. Visits are limited to 1 hour. There is sand and water to play with so you may wish to pack and dress your little ones accordingly. The Magic Garden at HCP is probably the best adventure playground I have ever seen. It is just breathtakingly well-made with astonishing details and great imagination.

Entrance to HCP is £29 for adults. I think this is pretty pricey, but it is easy to spend a full day exploring the historic buildings and the gardens and the full site, just about, is accessible with a pram. Their annual membership pass is pretty good value at £55 – click here for details. We travelled to HCP by car and parking within the palace grounds, which, during term time was plentiful. Parking off-site might be necessary in peak season and weekends. Hampton Court Palace train station is a 2-minute walk away and offers a regular service from Wateroo Station.