Scotney Castle: Kent, England

Number 31 - Scotney castle

We visited Scotney castle in September 2014. Our attempts to see this castle had already been thwarted twice thanks to illness on both sides, so we were really determined to get there this time.

Scotney is run by the National Trust and we got two castles for the price of one. There is a 'modern' house called the 'new castle' which is Jacobean style but built in the Victorian era. The house was opened up so we wandered round. It was really lovely. Very real and homey. The rooms seemed functional and we loved the bedrooms with patterned wallpaper and velvet curtains. The lady who owned it lived there until she passed away, she was called Betty and loved cats. In most rooms there was cat memorabilia. We both thought she must have been a bit lonely living in that huge house on her own, but apparently she had lots of friends who used to come and visit.

The house itself was near the entrance at the top of the hill with some lovely views over the surrounding area. The grounds were really stunning, so much colour and variety.

We wandered down a winding path to find the 'old castle' at the bottom of the hill which was a moated manor house with a turret (we love turrets).

You could still get inside the old castle and climb the stairs, which we were quite pleased about considering it was a ruin.  We read some literature that said the owners had deliberately ruined it as they wanted it to be a bit battered, seemed odd, but each to their own. 

Thee was some amazing yellow flowers all over one part of the ruin, like a draped yellow cloak. A moat runs all the way round the edge which makes for a really picturesque walk round the estate. Unfortunately when we visited, there was scaffolding on both the main house and old castle, though it didn't take anything away from the beauty of the surroundings.

It was all very peaceful. We took a wander round the edge of the moat, with a nice river flowing behind us. 

We also paid a visit to the wormery where there was a live camera in a tree trunk monitoring creatures running in and out. We saw a little mouse rushing around.

The cafe was good, bit of a queue, but a nice slice of cake and traditional lemonade. Seating outside and in.

There was also a really nice walled garden with lots of plants and vegetables and a cactus house. We spotted some people having a picnic in there on a bench which seemed like quite a nice idea. But as we'd not bought a picnic, and already filled up on cake, this wasn't a plan we could action.

 

Want to find out why we're visiting every castle in the UK? Check our my first blog.

Cost: I think it was about £14 per person, but free if you're a National Trust member. But we think it was worth it as you could easily have spent a number of hours there, lots to do and nice walks to take.

Hints and tips: If you're not a national trust member you have to pay £3 cash on the way to the car park, so take some loose change.

Lullingstone Castle: Kent, England

Number 30 - Lullingstone Castle 

It seemed apt that in the year we both turned 30 we did our 30th castle. We got a 2 for 1 deal on Groupon to visit Lullingstone Castle in Kent. So in August 2014 we set off.

We weren't sure what to expect, as we knew very little about Lullingstone Castle. It was in the middle of nowhere (somewhere in Kent) but all very picturesque. There is a nice castle gatehouse with turrets and the person on the gate told us that the house was opening (not an every day occurrence) so it looks like we opted to go on the right day!

Once inside the castle walls there is a church... yes, they had their own private church. And a gorgeous manor house which was the main dwelling. 

I got the impression part of the house was still lived in by the current owners, but don't quote me on that.

 

We decided to tackle the gardens first, which were really interesting. There was a World Garden which the owners' son had set up. While abroad, he was kidnapped for 9 months. While prisoner he started planning to build a world garden at his family home (castle). Once free, he went home and set to it. He featured in a BBC documentary showing the trials and tribulations of trying to finance a huge estate like this and building this amazing garden. It's quite surprising just how tough it can be to make these country manors earn money and pay for themselves, and the outgoings are massive with gardens to tend and building fix. So maybe living in the equivalent of 'Pemberley' shouldn't be so high on my 'to-do' list.


Back to our visit, the World Garden had lots of flower beds and decor with plants from all over the place. We particularly liked the Chinese part which had lots of bamboo tunnels as well as the cactus house where a very nice lady talked us through how to look after them. 

There were some pretty groovy sculptures as well.

Lullingstone Castle also sells plants at really reasonable prices, which was a nice addition to our trip.

After spending quite a bit of time exploring the gardens, we paid a visit to the marquee for home made cheese sandwiches.

Then it was time for the house tour. The guide was great, interesting and funny and clearly knew his stuff. He kept talking about Henry VIII and 'Queen Ann'. Chloe and myself spent a long time trying to work out who Queen Ann actually was. Ann Boelyn? Ann of Cleves.... someone else? We were too embarrassed to ask, so just kept trying to find clues. We failed... and still don't know who this mysterious 'Ann' is. Maybe I should google it... oh well. 

The house was in great condition with lots of interesting things to look at. Some Japanese pottery caught my eye, really distinct.

We wandered downstairs after the tour was over and had a look at some books that were for sale. We got chatting to a lady, who we thought was another guide. Chloe had more interesting things to do so went off to look at some portraits while I carried on chatting to the woman concerned. She seemed to know a lot about the house, and history. Very impressed...well trained..........turns out she was the owner, the lady of the mansion! Oh the sweet pangs of joy as I got to get into her good books while Chloe looked at suite of armour. Ha! 

When I broke the bombshell to Chloe upon leaving, she didn't believe me, but it's as true as true can be.

If we'd had more time we would have walked round a rather large and beautiful lake but we both had to dash off.

Cost: Very reasonable. A mere £7 and we got this deal that meant 2 for £9, bargain!

Hints and tips: When you arrive in the village there is a Roman Fort, that is not the castle. Keep going up a tiny road  and you'll eventually reach the castle. There is a little marquee selling home made sandwiches and cake, but take cash.

Want to know why we visited Lullingstone castle? Check out my first blog.

Chiddingstone Castle, Kent, England

Number 29 - Chiddingstone castle

Our castle challenge had been on a bit of a hiatus while Chloe got through a pretty tough pregnancy. So, with her back to full energy levels, we knew we had to get back on the castle horse (if only we could ride horses we would be much more authentic castle challengers).

Chiddingstone castle was a leaving present from the colleagues at my old company. What a treat! They bought me a voucher that entitled me and "a friend" (obviously I had to pick Chloe) to enter a castle AND have a cream tea whilst there. We opted for Chiddingstone in Kent.

 

This was also a momentous occasion as it was the first time Chloe's little boy had been to a castle with us. No doubt the first of many. Though he can't speak yet, he let me know he loved it through mime and eye contact.

Chiddingstone is a really beautiful castle. It's a tudor dwelling and is the kind of house I'd like to live in (in my dreams). 

We went for a tour around the inside, though we didn't go upstairs as Chloe had the pushchair and we thought it would prove a bit challenging. There were lots of exhibits downstairs, including one on Japan and another on ancient Egypt. All very interesting and lots to find out about. 

There were also hand written letters and old photographs of people who had lived there, we love looking at that sort of thing.

The castle has transformed over the years, it started off as a Tudor dwelling, then they changed it so it looked more like a typical high street home n the 17th century and then in the 1800s the owner decided to change the castle so it looked more like a traditional medieval castle. Unfortunately they ran out of money before this plan could come to fruition. It was sold in the 1930s and became a military base for the army in the second world war.

Next stop was the tea room. It was outside the castle in a little courtyard area. I presented my voucher and we ended up with a delicious cream tea. Really good! Home made sandwiches, scones, jam, cake. I opted for blueberry and lime cake and it was delicious, a bit like a lemon drizzle but slightly more tangy and with lots of blueberries. Can't remember what Chloe ordered, I was too busy wolfing mine down.

Later on, we moved into the main gardens through a little archway onto the grass, and ate some more of our edible treats out there, which was lovely. 

We had a wander round the edge of the of the castle and explored some of the gardens, which were really beautiful. 

 
There was a rather large Grade II Victorian Orangery which was rather lovely.

We were really lucky with the weather and spent a large portion of the day sitting on the grass. Lots of beautiful plants and displays. You can wander quite a way and discover little hidden walls and buildings, all quite magical. There was also a huge lake which was really stunning.

Cost: normally £8 but I had this voucher so we got in for free. Though we didn't pay for the cream tea it was all very reasonable (I think about £5 for scones and tea with jam and clotted cream).

Hints and tips: Try the scones, they're delicious! Good size car park and they had their own postbox (I need one of those).