Portchester Castle: Hampshire, England

Number 33 - Portchester castle

Well I had been looking forward to Friday 26th June for quite some time, having discovered a few months ago it was National Cream Tea day... like we need an excuse to devour delicious scones. It was also my birthday and I knew Chloe was arranging a special surprise. I was very much hoping this surprise would involve a castle, and was pleased when I discovered it did.

A trip to Portchester castle was on the agenda, how delightful! The castle is based in Hampshire near Portsmouth and Chichester. We haven't done many castles in Hampshire, and we've been missing a trick because there are loads. 

I decided to get the train down and take the opportunity to start my new book, The Island by Victoria Hislop, which I'm reading as part of my book-club. So it was quite a leisurely journey. I met Chloe at Havant train station, though she was a little late thanks to activity taking place at Goodwood causing a huge traffic jam, blooming Goodwood. Anyway, once she arrived I hopped in and we headed to Portchester castle. 

You could see the castle on the approach, across the sea. It was very majestic and clearly well positioned to fight off enemies approaching from the water.

We parked in the small car park by the gatehouse (which was free) and headed inside.

The outer section of the castle is large and free to wander round. It has large walls with several entrances/exits. There is a mini moat to the left and the sea is straight ahead and forms a barrier to the right of the castle. 

There is also a church and little tea room in the middle of the first bit of the castle (more on these later).

We decided to head for the main castle ruin and tower to start our day. This is the bit you have to pay for (Chloe treated me as it was a birthday present, but I give you the price at the end) and it was well worth the money. You walk through a sweet little gift shop, and get the tickets here. 

The interior castle is surrounded by ruined arches and window frames, towers and segments of the castle where slaves were kept. There was lots to read about these parts of the castle, and a free audio guide you could obtain from reception.

There was a Roman Saxon shore fort built on the site in the 3rd century, and the castle itself followed in the 11th century. For a long time it was run by the Royals, and apparently King John used to hunt there. It can get very confusing with all the Kings being called Henry and John, so I'm not exactly sure which King John. I assume not the one that Robin Hood fought off...

Portchester castle is managed by English Heritage and they're doing a great job as it was in pretty good condition considering. I am always amazed how archways and window frames manage to hold their shape after all these years.

We then went into the main tower, which was huge with lots of things to read about the lives of the castle. It seemed to have been everything, a prison, a hunting fort, a house, a palace.

The tower itself was very wide, and had various exhibitions on some of the floors. We climbed to the to using new wooden stairs which took you up level by level. 

A few levels up we came across this wall which had fragments of red paint and writing. The information board told us that this was a mural which had been restored recently where teams of people stuck the flecks of paint back on. We couldn't really work out what it was, but clearly a lot of hard work had gone into it.

Once at the top of the tower we went out on to the roof and wandered round. It was a little scary as the walkway isn't very wide, but the views were incredible and well worth it.

On our descent we decided to take the spiral staircase which took us down a narrow tower. 

I won't lie, it was a little precarious. But there was a handy rope that went all the way down which we clung on to for dear life.

To keep our spirits up on the way down, Chloe recreated the famous 'terrified dungeon' pose first displayed when we visited the London dungeon and were both scared out of our skin! Anyway, her recreation always makes me chuckle.... as a result I almost lost my balance and tumbled to my demise.

Next we decided to exit the old part of the castle and head back into the bit in the middle - inside the outer wall but outside the inner wall....

We wandered down to the far exit which overlooked the sea and harbour area. It was all very relaxing and we walked round the right hand side of the wall. A really calm and beautiful setting.

After our seaside jaunt we headed back into the castle and explored the sweet little church that sits inside the grounds. It's a functioning church and there was an event earlier in the day.

With it being National Cream tea day, I had to have a scone. I had also committed, in advance, to having one half jam first, and the other cream first to decide once and for all how I prefer my scones. I always acknowledge that I think cream first look prettier, but I normally eat mine jam first. 

Portchester castle had a delightful little team room next to the church within the castle walls, so we headed there. Luckily for us there were two scones left. Perfect. I set up the experiment and then tasted each one in turn.

Drum roll please, the results are in! To be honest with you, they both tasted almost identical. Others may say differently, but I speak the truth. Though I acknowledge that a cream base with a red hint on top looks more appealing, i genuinely believe that jam was made to be spread and cream is more capable of being dollopped. So I will continue to have my scones jam first going forward.

Once the scone was devoured, we decided it was probably time to head home (sob sob) so headed for the car/train, but not before calling in on Chloe's grandparents (who conveniently live nearby) who served me a slice of birthday cake. 

Cost: It was £6 each to go into the inner part of the castle, which I would say was well worth it for the tower alone, but there were other bits to explore, and an exhibition to look at. 

Hints and tips: If you don't want to pay to go into the interior castle, you can have a really nice day out having a picnic in the outer part, walking along the harbour and devouring a slice of cake in the tiny cafe. I also wouldn't climb up or down the spiral staircase if you have any health issues, as it was quite narrow and quite a lot of steps. Go up the wooden steps in the tower instead.

Turret score: There weren't really any turrets to speak of so I will have to say N/A. However the tower was excellent.

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

Leeds castle, Kent, England

Number 32 - Leeds castle

Leeds is our first castle of 2015, and it's one we've had our eye on for a while. We knew it needed a whole day to take in the full splendour, so with a day booked off work we headed there in some lovely spring weather.

Chloe had her little boy in tow, it's his second castle. He was allowed in free as he's only 1.

The car park is a 15 minute walk to the castle itself. It's up a tree lined path, surrounded by lakes, ponds and rivers on both sides. 

Luckily for us, it turns out March is a great time to visit as the spring flowers were poking their heads out, lots of lovely crocuses and daffodils all over the place.

Sebastian loves birds, so he wanted to stop every 3 steps to admire them. This meant the walk took us significantly longer until the castle came into view.

But when we did finally reach the approach and see the castle, it was worth the wait...

What a stunner. I mean the weather was certainly showing it off in it's best light, but it was so tranquil. Some castles can look rather imposing, but I got quite a cosy feeling about Leeds. Although it was still huge, and could have fit a family of 100 plus, it felt lived in and cared for in a really nice way. The castle and grounds were so beautiful, the team at Leeds must work night and day to keep it all in such pristine condition. The view across the river/moat was really stunning.

The history of Leeds castle was originally the site of a manor of the Royal Saxon Family. it was a Norman stronghold, then became a Royal palace. Various Queens and Kings lived there for 300 years. In the1900s it was bought by Lady Baillie who lived there longer than anyone else, she restored the whole thing, luckily for us!

By the time we made it up the hill, it was lunch time and we didn't think Sebastian would be keen on waiting for his grub so we walked towards the maze and falconry (yes there are eagles etc) to find a nice spot to picnic. We picked a shaded area under the trees overlooking a huge lake.... at least I think it was a lake. Really peaceful, probably the nicest view I've ever had when eating hula hoops.

Once lunch was wolfed down, we decided to stay that end and tackle the maze. There was also a massive children's play area which looked like it was having some refurbishment done, but would be great in the summer.

Having barely ever been in a maze, I wasn't sure how i'd feel. Unfortunately I got a lot of flashbacks to my terrifying day at the London dungeons (which Chloe thought was hilarious) and flashes of the Goblet of Fire, in which the maze is quite terrifying. So, needless to say, I wanted to find the centre and get the hell out of there. Saying that, I was able to admire the neatness of the hedges which I imagine takes a lot of work.

As was to be expected, we got completely lost and had no strategy whatsoever. Eventually we spotted a lady who's partner had made it to the middle and was shouting her directions from his pivotal, all-seeing position at the top of the tower. We used Sebastian to win her over, and she let us follow her to the centre. Hurrah! There was a little tower you could climb which allowed you to look down at the maze tunnels but, what was more, was a shell grotto..... literally made of shells.

Upon entering we were slightly terrified to be confronted by a huge stone/shell face.

There was also scary music playing. I was worried Sebastian might burst into tears, but it seemed I was more frightened than he was. The grotto had a little underground passage filled with shell statues and shell ceilings. 

It really was quite something, no idea when it was made.... should have found that out. I was quite pleased when the secret underground passageway lead us out at the lake, rather than having to find our way back out through the maze. If this had been necessary, we may well have still been in there now.

We started the walk back to the main castle, going through a rather delightful walled garden. There weren't loads of flowers in bloom, but I imagine in the summer it's absolutely stunning.

On the way back we also took our imperative 'castle selfie' with the castle in the background to prove we were there together. A rather nice one I'm sure you'll agree.

Next up was the castle itself, and it's interior. What wonders were we to encounter? 

The gatehouse was in excellent condition, leading to an interior green space surrounded by other buildings. We made for the main castle area which sat at the rear. The ticket price included admission to the house and the staff/volunteers were really friendly. 

It reminded me a bit of Scotney Castle, in as much as a lot of the furniture was the real stuff and it all seemed rather sweet and homely. The owners at some point in time clearly loves birds as there were lots of statues and pictures of birds, which Sebastian couldn't get enough of.

There was an old pale blue chair I took quite a liking too, apparently it was the Queen's favourite too. I'm not 100% sure which Queen. But a Queen is a Queen so that's that. 

I really liked the feel of the castle, one of the cupboards upstairs had a full shoe rack showcasing some rather nice vintage heels, as well as an old chandelier. 

It felt like the sort of place I could live... if I was a millionaire. 

Mother recently suggested we do a turret score for every castle, we thought this was quite a fun idea and Leeds seems like a good one to start with as they were very good. Clean lines, in excellent condition and a good size.

By the time we finished walking round the main castle building, we'd been there for about 4 hours and were all absolutely exhausted. Sebastian was so tired he tried to go to sleep on the grass by the sun dial. So we decided it was time to head off.  We ended up carrying Sebastian as we didn't think any of us would stay awake long enough for him to stop and point at every bird we passed (a few thousand).

When we were almost back at the car, we came across a peacock who decided to fan it's tail, rather amazing. It's neck looked like it was blue velvet and the tail was just sensational. I also pointed out the little Peahens to Chloe that were pecking around nearby, but she wasn't that impressed. Not all birds can look like blue velvet. 

Utterly exhausted by the end, but a lovely day out with so much to do, and the prospect of going back bearing in mind the below ticket information. 

Cost: On the surface it seems quite pricey at £24 per adult, however once paying for the tickets we discovered they are valid for a whole year!!!! It's TRUE! So you can go back as many times as you want, walk round the grounds, take little people to the play park, try the maze (if you dare) as many times as you want across the next year, which we thought was very good value.

Hints and tips: Keep your eye on National Rail 2 for 1, Visit Kent and other discount websites as we found a buy one get one free offer which meant if we travelled by train and could show them the tickets we got 2 for the price of 1. So actually that was £12.50 each which seems much more reasonable when you think about it.

Turret score: 10 out of 10 (start low...)

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

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.