E

ver fancied sleeping in a castle once owned and frequented by Henry VIII? Haven’t we all? Happily, these days you can by booking yourself into the Thornbury Hotel, the only Tudor castle in England to be open as a hotel. Steeped in over five hundred years of history (approximately 480 years more than your average Travelodge), it’s the perfect combination of museum trip and luxury.

Today, the hotel boasts 27 bedchambers and is surrounded by 15 acres of vineyards (which still produce Thornbury Castle wine), and ancient yew-hedged gardens.

In most rooms you’ll find a roaring fire, four-poster bed, and ornate carved ceilings – all the Tudor trimmings you could wish for. The oriel windows and arrow slits provide views over historic parkland or the stone-flagged courtyard.

The real draw here is the chance to spend a night in the Duke’s Bedchamber, where Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn once slept, although the Gloucester Bedchamber, which has a view of the oldest Tudor gardens in England, should also have you feeling pretty regal.