A comprehensive tour of Hampton Court palace tailored to your historic interests. I can also be in Tudor or Victorian authentic costume (note, no adults allowed in period costume). Children can wear what they like! I cover all aspects of the Palace's history including tales of Henry VIII, Ghostly stories, Grace & Favour, and all others who have lived there. You will see a Palace in two halves, half Tudor, half Baroque. Highlights include Henry's Great Hall, the Haunted Gallery, King Williams spectacular Staircase, Guard Chamber and the beautiful Versailles style gardens.
Sheila is the absolute best! Her knowledge of Hampton Court and its history is unparalleled. I would not visit the Palace without her by your side. My wife and I learned so much during our tour and her vivid descriptions and historical references brought this massive structure to life!
Sheila is very knowledgeable about all aspects of Hampton Court Palace and tailors the tour to your specific interests while also providing a broad view of the history of the site. The tour was not rushed and was very entertaining.
Sheila was able to customize the tour for whatever interested us - kept my 9 year old engaged and happy the whole time. Truly a wealth of information - not hard to imagine she could tell us interesting stories for days. Daughter specifically wanted to say: I would recommend her if you’re interested in learning more about king Henry the 8th’s history. Definitely worth the money.
We had the pleasure of enjoying a private tour of Hampton Court Palace with Sheila, and what a wonderful experience it was! Sheila was fantastic. Her knowledge of the palace and its fascinating history was exceptional, and she had a lovely way of bringing the stories and characters to life. Her enthusiasm and passion for history really shone through, making the tour both interesting and thoroughly enjoyable. We learned so much about the palace and the people who lived there, and Sheila made the whole experience feel relaxed, engaging and personal. Even our little “grace and favour” children thoroughly enjoyed themselves, which made the experience all the more special! It was a truly memorable visit and undoubtedly one of the highlights of our day. We would highly recommend Sheila to anyone considering a private tour of Hampton Court Palace. Thank you, Sheila, for such an enjoyable and fascinating experience!
This tour is a must do. Sheila was absolutely fantastic and an amazing story teller with so much knowledge. My family and I were engaged for the whole tour and loved every bit. Highly recommend this tour and Shelia.
Excellent guided experience with Shelia. We felt we had a more in-depth view of Hampton Court through time, but also its current operation, which was fascinating.
It was amazing. Sheila our guide tailored the tour to what we wanted and she didn’t disappoint. It was well worth doing.
Sheila was a phenomenal guide. She has so much knowledge about Hampton Court, those that lived there and the changes that have been made to it. She made it so interesting and could answer any question we had. Her pacing was perfect. We learned so much. Incredible tour! She told us all about the people and the drama. She also gave me a different perspective than the one I had of Henry VIII. My husband was not very excited about this tour but he really loved it from all he learned from her. Sheila was absolutely wonderful.
Sheila was extremely knowledgeable about Hampton Court!! She made the tour very interesting, especially if you are a history buff!
This is an excellent tour if you want a personalized and detailed experience. Sheila was amazing, super knowledgable and friendly. She asked us what we were interested in to give us a tour that was special to us. She also communicated with us before the trip to make sure the trip was as seamless as possible.
Sheila was an amazing guide! My husband is in a wheelchair and she took great care to cater to our needs and still get to see everything. I can’t recommend her enough! She was very knowledgeable and focused on our interests! An amazing tour!
Shelia was beyond amazing! She was right there to greet us and then the best experience began. She first asked what our main interest was concerning Hampton Court Palace was and then tailored the tour to fit that. All the while still giving info on everything else. She is an absolute expert on the Palace and is the ultimate source of historical information. We had such a great time and if ever back we will certainly try to book Shelia!!!
extremely knowledgeable, knows all the other guides on site and the story of every stone and corners of the palace. well recommended
Sylvia was an informative guide, enthusiastic, knowledgable and sensitive to our situation. We had landed that morning from Australia. There were laminated cards with lots of information on them, which helped us with remembering and keeping track of who was who!!! We hadn’t realised how big Hampton Court was, having Sylvia made the visit more insightful. Thank you Sylvia.
Sheila was truly exceptional! Her knowledge of Hampton Court Palace was encyclopedic. The manner in which she guided us was so relaxed and engaging. So many wonderful stories. We were really well looked after. I can’t recommend Sheila enough.
Jo Cooper was so fun, personable and knowledgeable. She took us to out of the way places, showed us creaking doors, haunted hallways. She knew all about Christopher Wren, William and Mary and king Henry the eighth and all his wives.
The private tour of Hampton Court Palace, with our guide Sheila, was outstanding. My husband and I have taken many, many tours in many, many countries and this is definitely in our top 10. Sheila is very knowledgeable and personable. We highly recommend her!
Sheila Dunsmore was our private guide of Hampton Court and i absolutely loved that tour. She was incredibly engaging and knowledgeable about the history of the palace and specifically I asked her to concentrate on Henry the 8th and his 6 wives. I highly recommend her tour. It was excellent.
Sheila is a fantastic tour guide! Very knowledgeable and interesting story telling. She engaged various members of our group (mom and adult children) throughout. And added bonus ghost stories of the haunted gallery. I highly recommend visiting Hampton Court and asking for Sheila as your guide on Viator!
In depth discussion of the history of Hampton Court Palace and its occupants from Kings to the thousand of servants. Also , informative discussion of the unique architectural features and changes made over the years. Sheila was an amazing guide and highly recommend her services.
We loved our afternoon with Sheila, who is not just an expert on the site and its history but a gifted storyteller as well. We were a group of just two and she tailored the tour to our interests and made the history come alive. We learned so much more about Hampton Court and its place in English history than we would have been able to on our own as first-time visitors. Thank you Sheila 🩷
This was the most amazing experience because of our exceptional guide! We have told many people that this was the highlight of our 10 days exploring England🙌👏
Shelia was fantastic! She kept the kids entertained and adults engaged. I would recommend Shelia to anyone.
Sheila's tour was pure magic! Brilliant knowledge, wonderfully entertaining & incredibly kind. Hampton Court came alive! Highly recommend!
Our guide Sheila was absolutely wonderful! Very knowledgeable, great story teller and very thoughtful and accommodating. She made sure we saw and experienced all the historical aspects we were interested in and created a brilliant, feel good atmosphere. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her highly to anyone. We plan to do another tour with her in the future! Thank you Sheila!
I honestly never write reviews, but our private tour of Hampton Court with Sheila was so incredible that I just had to. Sheila is a total professional and just so fun to walk around with. She’s incredibly knowledgeable, but instead of just reciting dry history facts, she brought the whole place to life. She even shared a bunch of super cool, lesser-known stories that you'd never find in a regular guidebook, which made the whole day feel really special. If you want a guide who is brilliant, engaging, and genuinely awesome, definitely book with Sheila. She made our visit unforgettable!
Sheila was extremely knowledgeable, having worked as a staffer at Hampton Court for 14 years. She gave an excellent tour, and answered every one of my questions thoroughly and clearly
Sheila is a fantastic guide. Generous with her time, steeped in the history of Hampton Court Palace, and able to tailor the tour to everyone’s needs and interests. Highly recommend!
It was wonderful. Our guide was very nice and very knowledgeable. Sheila was very experienced and knew the answers to all our questions. We will definitely book her again for our next trip.
We highly recommend Viator and Sheila She was very knowledgeable and professional. Asked about our interests and accommodated mother who was on a mobility scooter. We got so much more from a knowledgeable guide vs the head phones!
Sheila gave us an amazing tour of Hampton Court Palace. She was so knowledgeable and was able to tailor the tour to our specific areas of interest. My partner is an early modern historian so when I booked the tour as a Christmas present, I was a bit worried that she might not get a lot out of it, but I needn’t have worried because she found it so informative and learned lots of interesting information that she didn’t already know, as did I! We’d highly recommend this tour.
Sheila is an outstanding guide—she has a deep knowledge of so many aspects of the Palace and sets a good pace so we covered a lot of ground and topics. She also is friendly and has great rapport with her clients.
We had a very rewarding guided tour at Hampton Court Palace. Sheila was knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and even though our group consisted of people from different generations with varying levels of interest in history, everyone enjoyed the tour. Afterward, we visited the Mute Swan pub that Sheila recommended, which was also an excellent place to relax and enjoy a good lunch.
We were a group of three (including 2 teenagers) touring Hampton Court Palace with Sheila. Over several days in London we visited several historic attractions and museums with experienced guides, and without hesitation Sheila was our favourite guide and our visit to HCP was our most memorable. We weren't even phased by the less than desirable weather -we were so focused on the stories Sheila shared: everything from the Tudors to the Grace & Favour apartments. Not only is Sheila a great story teller, she has a gift for sharing history in a way that is both easy to digest and not overwhelming. I can't imagine experiencing Hampton Court without her by your side. I hope to return and tour more with her because I know that the surface was merely scratched.
We were a group of three (including 2 teenagers) touring Hampton Court Palace with Sheila. Over several days in London we visited several historic attractions and museums with experienced guides, and without hesitation Sheila was our favourite guide and our visit to HCP was our most memorable. We weren't even phased by the less than desirable weather -we were so focused on the stories Sheila shared: everything from the Tudors to the Grace & Favour apartments. Not only is Sheila a great story teller, she has a gift for sharing history in a way that is both easy to digest and not overwhelming. I can't imagine experiencing Hampton Court without her by your side. I hope to return and tour more with her because I know that the surface was merely scratched.
Walking around Hamlet Court on our own was very good. Walking around with Sheila was absolutely fantastic, learnt so much, enjoyed everything, and couldn’t recommend a better tour guide.
Shelia was a wonderful tour guide. Her extensive knowledge about Hampton Court and the Tudor History. We had the most wonderful day and couldn’t recommend this tour and guide enough!!!
My husband and I had an absolutely fantastic time touring Hampton Court Palace with Shiela. She customized our tour based on what we were most excited to see. So many details regarding the palace would have been missed without her expertise. If you plan on going to the palace, you have to have Shiela with you to get the best experience!
It was a lovely afternoon with Sheila! She is extremely prepared to tailor the tour to whatever catches your fancy - from history, architecture to ghost stories. Her talk is always engaging and informative and you truly get the most out of this beautiful palace.
Sheila was a wonderful guide! She was extremely flexible to start with. Due to scheduling conflicts, we had to change our dates and times and eventually still arrived about 20min late and soaked, she was happy to accommodate us. Sheila was extremely professional and found a way to customize the tour around both of our interests, my wife Henty and his wives, me any good ghost stories. Also, her years of experience at the palace have garnered her a certain level of respect from the staff, who appreciate her presence and institutional knowledge. Probably one of the best tours we have ever taken and truly believe that had we not booked the tour, we would have missed out on a greater understanding of what this incredibly rich historical monument has to offer. So, cheers to Sheila and thank you for a wonderful afternoon!
For me, this is something to see if you’ve already seen everything else touristy. It’s not nearly as pretty and kept up as Windsor Castle so perhaps start there. It does have a fun outdoor maze and adorable playground for kids. Our guide was very knowledgeable. It’s unfortunate that people with limited walking and stair climbing ability can’t be given more consideration.
Sheila was an excellent guide, very informative. She tailored the information to our interest and kept it lively.
Our guide, Sheila Dunsmore, was expert in her knowledge of Hampton Court Palace, and held our attention throughout the entire tour! She asked what we wanted out of the tour, and 100% delivered on what we requested. Sheila was a pleasure to have as our guide!
Sheila Dunsmore is fantastic! She took us all over Hampton Court. She started the tour by asking what kind of tour we wanted so she could cater to our expectations. She is a wealth of knowledge about the architecture, history and people associated with the palace. It was so much better than listening to an audio tour. We could stop where we wanted, ask questions and even got to hear a ghost story. If you want a fantastic tour guide, pick Sheila.
She has detail knowledge of the Palace. Her knowledge of history was excellent; she was patient with questions. She told the history in a well crafted manner with the proper amount of visual prop.
This was wonderful experience. Sheila, our guide was extremely knowledgeable and readily fed us tons of interesting facts that made our limited knowledge come alive. The time flew by & we surprised at just how much we did not know.
Had an amazing tour from Sheila today. She sure knows her stuff! Very much appreciated how she geared the tour towards my interests. I had high expectations based on other reviews and they were exceeded. Thanks Sheila for an amazing first time experience, can't wait to come back!
Sheila was fantastic! A wealth of knowledge and super patient with our kids. She kept all our attention with her story-telling! We truly enjoyed our day and left wishing we had more time with her. Don’t hesitate- book with Sheila!
Sheila is fantastic! Her tour was fascinating from start to finish, we had a wonderful time wandering the hallowed halls of the palace with her and came away full of stories. She's incredibly knowledgable about the vast history of the Tudors and the reign of Henry VIII (and his many, many wives), alongside her incredible knowledge of Hampton Court. We really got a true insider's look at the palace and those who have inhabited it throughout history, both living and paranormal. Overall Shiela gives a professional tour which delivers a very interesting and concise roundup of an historical masterpiece. We would 100% recommend, especially Mick!
Sheila’s knowledge and skill in making history come alive was exceptional. She made it very interesting and the tour was so informative.
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