HAMPTON COURT PALACE ON A SUNDAY
 

How crowded will Hampton Court Palace be on Sundays in July. I plan to arrive quite early before it opens and a full day is planned there. But if its going to be too crowded on a July Sunday, I will have to juggle my schedule and fit it in another day, but then the TOWER OF LONDON is even more crowded on a Sunday, so I heard!
Any suggestions would be welcome

It will be crowded, especially if a nice day. But it is a BIG place and swallows the crowds pretty well. If you do get there early like you plan, you will be fine. You will be ahead of the masses that come later, and you'll be on your way back to London in the afternoon when it gets most crowded.

Janisj - Any idea how expensive are the restaurants there? Is it better to take along some picnic lunch?

There is a cafe out in the grounds not far from the Maze. It has indoor and outdoor seating and is probably the best place to eat. Not expensive.

I personally wouldn't want to lug food around from early morning til lunch time. But there are benches throughout the grounds where you could sit and eat if you do decide to picnic.

Regarding food:

There are also restaurants and pubs located near the entrance to Hampton Court, both immediately opposite and also across the Thames bridge in East Molsey.

H.C. is huge, if you get out there fairly early you will be ok crowd-wise.

I would not want to lug food around all day to have a picnic at Hampton Court. There is a cafe there, it's sandwiches, soups, salads, etc. While not cheap it is not too bad (remember those kinds of places have a captive audience so to speak) and you can sit outside and eat too. We have been to H.C. twice and ate there both times.

Last time we were at H.C. (we don't go out there every trip so I think it was 2 yrs ago) it was an exceptionally warm day for April and many locals were having picnics on the grounds. I believe you can jut buy a ticket for the grounds, not the palace, which may have accounted for that.

The eating places near the train station (which is just a short walk from entrance) all looked like pizza places or fast food - not particularly exciting :-) Perhaps if you walk further back there are some nicer restuarants.