CAMERA CAPERS

The gardens at Eltham Palace Before walking over the bridge to enter the grounds of Eltham Palace, this large house can be seen just to the right of the bridge.  It used to be the home of the Lord Chancellor in  Henry VIII's time.  Now it is divided into three and leased privately.    The bridge is apparently London's oldest working bridge. Magnificent views of London from the grounds - you can just about make out St,. Paul's cathedral on the right. Can you see The London Eye? I was quite disappointed that the moat came to an abrupt end here, about halfway around. Some really old ruins here - I imagine part of the original palace. This wooden bridge is thought to be where the original drawbridge was. Back to the bridge and time for a cup of tea before boarding our coach back to Guildford.

We were really lucky to have a Blue Badge Guide to take us around the House.   Built in the 1930's by the Courtaulds,Eltham Palace is decorated in the Art Deco style and is very glamourous. The house has all mod cons of the day, including all the clocks, on the ground floor at least, being wired to tell the exact time at the same time and hidden vacuum cleaner points in every room, i.e. the hose is attached to a point in the wall and the dust is transferred to a central point in the basement.  Over the side of the entrance to the house                                   Looking up in the entrance - these are all little glass windows.  If you look carefully you can see parts of the roof. Above the entrance hall - I think these are also small glass windows. Marquetry frieze on the wall on either side of the entrance. Cocktails ready for guests as they arrive - sadly not for us thou...