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.
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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.
Number 28 - Sissinghurst Castle
I really regret not spending longer at Sissinghurst castle. We'd been to a few castles in Kent on this day in November 2012 and it was the last one, so we were both a bit zonked, plus the castle itself wasn't open when we got there.
It's run by the National Trust and looked really beautiful with all the autumnal colours. We wandered around the edge of the building, and there was the opportunity of doing some much longer walks, but it was getting late.
There was a big gift shop with lots of lovely food and nic-nacs to buy. Chloe bought us both a little Christmas decoration - a hen. In fact, now I come to think of it, maybe it was just a 'decoration' rather than a 'Christmas decoration' as I've had it hanging in my kitchen all year.
Cost: £12 approx
Hints and tips: lots to do and a restaurant on site so you could really spend a good amount of time here. Really nice walks round the grounds which would also be lovely.
Number 2 - Bodiam Castle
Bodiam Castle is often the castle that is used to adorn the front of heritage books. It's got a really distinctive exterior and a moat, pretty impressive.
We had a lovely day there in April 2010. Chloe made some lemon drizzle cake for the trip which was a real bonus and we worked our way through that while walking from the car park to the entrance.
Bodiam is a 14th century castle with a moat. It's a ruin, but you can still climb steps to the tower and there were lot of beautiful archways that were all in tact.
When we got there we realised we'd picked a good day. There were loads of people dressed up in medieval garb, all very exciting. At one point we watched a little exhibition by the medieval re-enacters and, don't ask me how, but Chloe ended up in the stocks, which I thought was absolutely hilarious.
It was a bit wet the day we went so we were using our coats as rain covers. We climbed the tower which had some great views of the castle as a whole.
There were also some rather lovely turrets up there.
Then the sun came out for our photo, Chloe didn't have her sunglasses though, shame.
Cost: It's about £7 per adult for the castle and grounds
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