英国桑伯里古堡酒店
Thornbury Castle
www.thornburycastle.co.uk
桑伯里城堡酒店
逃遁到亨利八世的爱恨情仇中
桑伯里城堡气度不凡，位处布里斯托以北的桑伯里市镇，是英国唯一一座由都铎城堡改建而来的酒店。森然肃立的炮塔，陡峭的螺旋式石头楼梯，美得清爽利落的凸窗……复写出深沉博大的历史感。遥远的时光中，在这里怡然小住的亨利八世安娜波莲和玛丽一世留下闲庭信步的身影。
酒店由Luxury Family Hotels持有，店里特色鲜明的“家外之家”服务正是该酒店集团的拿手好戏。最近，桑伯里城堡被评为全球十大度蜜月城堡之一，古堡恢弘壮丽，格调不凡，却也舒适而悠然，历经500年的历史岁月洗礼，本色不退。1535年，亨利八世与安娜波莲卿卿我我度蜜月时，到格罗斯特郡的桑伯里城堡小住十日。然时日不久之后，他们不再如胶似漆，关系迸裂恶化。尽管如此，桑伯里仍旧是皇家爱侣的浪漫去处，声名经久不衰。
直到19世纪30年代，诺福克公爵家族的霍华德家族接管城堡，南翼得以修缮，家族一部分家人居住于此。1966年，南翼被售予餐饮大亨和Porlethen的泰勒男爵—肯尼思贝尔。其他区域则改头换颜，蜕变而为如今的城堡酒店，古雅而大方。
温馨的休息区松弛身心，28间客房各自设计得气象万千。都铎及斯塔福德客房的狭长窗户玛丽一世客房的美丽凸窗博亨与公爵客房的八角豪华客房，都是真实不做作的笔触。有的客房凭四柱床或王冠床博人眼球；有的则画风迥异：硬朗而带质感的石墙富丽堂皇的挂毯熊熊燃烧的壁炉火焰精雕细琢的华丽天花，皆是美得大气磅礴。踱步到窗边看出去，不远处，有一爿看似带有年代感的花园，再远些，赛汶河水汩汩流淌，永不知疲倦。
令人难以置信的是，人们可以选择下榻“公爵客房”，正是当年亨利八世和安娜波莲住过的房间；这间八角形客房与城堡原有的圆形石楼梯相通，也是当年亨利八世携妻回房就寝而必走的楼梯。拾阶而上，和衣而卧，错觉每个角落里藏身的五百年前的威严皇仪，似乎还挥之不去。
若要过一把真正皇家范儿的瘾，塔楼套房是首选。塔楼套房盘踞城堡最高处，配有堪称全英最大的四柱床，床约10英尺宽，满铺薄如蝉翼的丝绸锦缎，如出身帝王将相之门。有的客房对年轻人投其所好，配置采用原汁原味都铎风格设计的特殊脚轮床，也是走心之举。
2016年4月，城堡新添两套套房：爱德华和伊丽莎白。爱德华套房含一间大卧室，卧室自带独立休息区，让人忍不住想窝到沙发床上慵懒小憩。伊丽莎白房间阔达，横梁写满历史沧桑感，将睡眠区与座位区划分开。
从桑伯里城堡的花园穿行而过，像是在风景画中徜徉一遭。拘谨的围墙，毕恭毕敬环伺四边，草坪青青，引人怜爱。安排门球箭术和狩猎活动，是闲暇之余调剂身心的良药。附近还能慵懒而专注地垂钓，蹬一蹬四人座自行车热一热身。到城堡酒店下榻，出门，任你想要探索英国西南部威尔士边界和羊毛产地科茨沃尔德，都是说走就走的事儿。
在桑伯里城堡里，不由跟随亨利八世国王和安娜波莲王后的脚步，往来穿行。古老的紫杉篱笆花园里，蜂飞蝶绕；高大的壁炉燃起熊熊炉火；驻足石板庭院；流连在英国最古老的都铎花园……城堡恰位于诺尔曼时期建造的圣玛丽教堂后面，国王夫妇十天城堡之行，很有可能到教堂里虔诚祈祷过。时光，就这样在桑伯里城堡里逆流而去。
Thornbury Castle
Escape Into Henry VIII’s Love And Hatred
The splendid Thornbury Castle, set in the market town of Thornbury, just north of Bristol, is the only Tudor castle to be open as a hotel in England. Complete with turrets, steep spiral stone staircases and beautiful oriel windows, it has an extraordinary sense of history, with former guests including King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Mary I.
It was not until the 1830s when it was owned by the Howard family – the family of the Dukes of Norfolk – that the south wing was renovated and became a home for a branch of that family. In 1966, it was sold to Kenneth Bell, a restaurateur and then to the Baron Taylor of Porlethen. The other wings were then renovated into the beautiful hotel it is today.
With warm, comfortable lounges, a choice of 28 individually designed bedchambers is a catch. Particularly authentic features include the arrowslit windows in The Tudor and Stafford Bedchambers; the beautiful oriel window in Mary I and the octagonal deluxe rooms found in South Wing Tower – Bohun and Duke’s Bedchamber. Most bedchambers feature fourposter or coronet beds, and many have stone walls, tapestries, roaring fires, ornate carved ceilings and views to historic parkland and the River Severn beyond.
What is unbelievable is that visitor’s can choose to stay in the ‘Duke’s Bedchamber’ the exact room that Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn slept in during their visit The octagonal bedchamber is reached via the original circular stone staircase, the exact staircase that King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn would have ascended when retiring for the night.
For a truly royal experience, the Tower Suite, the highest bedchamber in the Castle, boasts the largest four poster bed in the country – measuring some 10 feet across, and covered in beautiful silk damask, it is truly a bed fit for a king. For younger guests, some bedrooms even come complete with special ‘truckle’ beds which have been designed in true Tudor style.
Two new suites were introduced in April 2016; Edward is set in the eaves and comprises a large guest bedroom with a separate lounge （which includes a sofa bed）. While Elizabeth is a very large room with historic beams dividing the sleeping and the seating areas.
The gardens at Thornbury Castle are a pleasure to walk through, with a pretty walled garden and lovely lawns. Activities that can be arranged include croquet, archery and falconry. Fishing, quad biking and other activities are available nearby and the castle is ideally situated for exploring the West Country, the Welsh borders and the Cotswolds.
Like an exercise in time travel, Thornbury Castle allows its visitors to walk in the footsteps of Kings and Queens, to lose themselves in the ancient yewhedged gardens and enjoy the roaring fires. Thornbury also boasts a stone flagged courtyard and the oldest Tudor gardens in England. The Castle is situated behind St. Mary’s Church, dating back to the Norman period. A church that King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn are likely to have worshipped in during their 10 day stay at the castle.
