Jenni Smith is responsible for looking after group visits to Hever Castle.
Jenni, who has been at Hever Castle for 7 years, works on bookings for educational trips, garden tours, private guided tours and behind the scenes, Hidden Hever tours.
Her role is to liaise with members of the public in helping arrange their group or school visit. She is the main point of contact for teachers and tour operators.
She organises Castle private guided tours, garden tours, pulls together timetables for school workshops, books group refreshments, reserves the Think Tank for school workshops, books multimedia guides in the Castle, and ensures there is coach parking for any groups coming in.
Jenni says: “It is always very busy in the office as it’s a popular venue to come to.”
She is getting enquiries for group visits to Hever Castle for 2020 and even for 2021.
The busiest time for groups is during Hever in Bloom as well as Christmas.
Hever Castle had 41,908 group visits in 2018, compared to 39,474 in 2017.
The largest number of visitors come from UK groups, followed by UK schools, then French, German and Czech visitors. The Time Travellers workshops for schools is very popular with some dates getting booked up a year in advance.
What does Jenni most like about working at Hever Castle? “It’s a beautiful place to work. Who wouldn’t want to work here? Being able to walk around the lake at lunchtime is great. We’ve also got a lovely team. Everyone always helps everyone out.”
Jenni often receives positive feedback from group visits including:
Mike Byrne said: ‘I just wanted you to know how much our group enjoyed our visit to Hever Castle on the 23rd May. Our group were in total agreement on how beautiful the gardens were and of their interest in the castle. Thank you for your valuable assistance.’
Andy Delaney said: ‘Thank you so much for your help in organising our trip to Hever Castle. My group had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed the garden tour followed by our very tasty lunch. The staff were extremely helpful organising everything from buggies to our pre booked meal. So nice to see so many happy people in one place.’
Book your visit to Hever Castle & Gardens.
Within the grounds of the Hever Castle Estate, there are two opportunities for you to stay the night with us.
Hever Castle has played host to many important events and celebrations for over 600 years. In 1903 when William Waldorf Astor set about restoring Hever Castle to its former glory, he added the Astor Wing, to accommodate his family and guests, before creating a lake and the spectacular Italian Garden to house his impressive collection of ancient Greek and Roman statuary.
There are multiple places to eat & drink across the Hever Castle Estate. Select between the Castle & Gardens and Golf Club below to discover more.
Set in the mature grounds of the Hever Castle Estate, Hever Castle Golf Club is a 27 hole Kent golf course that will encourage and inspire all golf enthusiasts.
Set in the mature grounds of the Hever Castle Estate, the Wellbeing Centre consists of five smart treatment rooms.
