We had planned our trip to Chilham castle for quite some time, mainly because it's only open the second Tuesday of every month from May to Sept. That's 6 days a year, so this needed advanced planning.
I booked a day off and travelled down to Chloe the night before so we could drive together across Kent together.
After navigating a down a few small and windy roads and we found the centre of a tiny but delightful village. It was flanked by a pub on one side, a tea room another and the castle at the top. We donned our macs and wellies (well, in reality I forgot to pack wellies so was in very impractical patent brogues - oops).
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The entry was £5 per adult and Sebastian was let in free, what with him being only 2!
The castle is a private residence, yes some lucky so-and-so's actually live there!! So our entry was to the grounds rather than being able to explore inside.
This wasn't a problem for us as the gardens were extensive and pretty. Best to wear sturdy footwear (unlike me) as with he rain it was a bit muddy and slippery.
We started by wandering round the edge of the house. The gardens had lots of levels with pretty things to catch the eye. Lots of steps and walkways to give you different views of various aspects.
They had some pretty impressive sculpted hedges too. They weren't quite as good as the animal sculpture hedges at Hever Castle, but we loved them none the less.
There was a secluded part which looked like a little forest surrounded by red brick walls, with a statue in the middle and bluebells scattered around.
We walked down a grassy verge to see the lake. Really beautiful and tranquil, but also wet and muddy so we opted not to walk round it on this occasion, though on a sunny day that would have been a lovely afternoon activity.
There was a lovely kitchen garden mingled with various vegetables but also mixed with numerous with flowers. I'm not sure how much of it is used now to feed the owners, but in the olden days it must have been invaluable.
Round the back of the main house is a very old looking building called 'the keep'. This is part of the original castle built around the year 709. Amazing that any of it is still standing really. The grey tower is all that is left of a medieval fortress that in the old days covered 8 acres of land.
The castle itself has been owned by various people who didn't think much of it, and left it to rack and ruin. Eventually a woman called Mary, who had been left the castle in her dad's Will married a fellow called Dudley Digges. Dudley clearly realised Chilham could be a lovely place to live and built the "modern" castle that we see today, alongside the original keep, which he used for a variety of reasons. This building work happened between 1612 and 1616. Dudley sounds like he was much admired by everyone around; he was a merchant, an MP, and later on became a Judge.
The site is currently owned by the Wheeler family who took it over in approx 2002. They have spent a lot of time and money working on the house to ensure it lasts the test of time.
After our visit we stopped off for tea and cake in Shelley's tea room which is just outside the castle in the small square of buildings. It's a sweet old building and cake and scones were home made.
Chloe and myself sampled the scones with plum jam and clotted cream, delicious! And Sebastian had a piece of squidgey home made chocolate cake. It was a sweet little place, with friendly service. Food and drink were a little on the pricey side, but we guessed they don't have many visitors as the village is so small, so they have to charge a bit of a premium.
Cost: To wander round the garden it was £5 per adult and little kids get in free.
Hints and tips: First and foremost, check the calendar of when Chilham is open, the opportunities are few and far between so you'll need to plan in advance. You can park for free in the village, but there wasn't much room. Pack decent footware as there are some lovely walks.
Want to know why we visited Chilham castle? Check out my first blog.
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