Rolf Wietlisbach-Kobayashi
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I don't even know where to start to describe this fantastic place!
We spent about five hours there and loved every single minute of it. There is just so much to see!
We first visited the Gardens, which are stunning. Then we spontaneously opted for a guided tour of the Old Palace, which absolutely blew us away. I must admit that when we had decided to visit Hatfield House, we weren't even aware of the Old Palace and its significant history, so it felt like an extra bonus. Our guide was not only very knowledgeable, but also extremely engaging - a pure joy to listen to and get lost in the stories from days gone by.
And then the house itself, which is absolutely marvellous in every respect. The staff in each of the rooms were genuinely eager to tell their story and engage with the visitors, so we were able to have long chats, which we thoroughly enjoyed!
A long walk to the Oak Tree and back completed our visit, which exceeded our expectations by far.
It didn't go unnoticed that unlike most historic houses in Britain, the gift shop was mostly stocked with local produce, rather than the usual souvenirs. But although we couldn't find anything to buy, we didn't even mind that. I got the feeling that despite all its fascinating history and splendour, Hatfield House doesn't seem nearly as commercialised as many similar places (we were surprised about the small number of visitors in the middle of summer), and that would actually seem a good thing. As a result, our visit had a very intimate touch, and we felt individually valued, rather than being a part of big masses of tourists passing through.
Our visit turned out to be the highlight of our 10-day holiday in the UK!