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.