Deal castle: Kent, England

Number 37 - Deal castle

Deal Castle was viewed on a day where we had three on our schedule, so we saw Deal sandwiched between Chilham and Walmer. All very different but lovely.

Chloe and myself both commented that Deal was quite different to any castle we've seen so far.

It's situated right on the seafront in the small coastal town of Deal in Kent. There was free parking alongside, so we parked up and tucked into our packed lunch.

Henry VIII ordered that Deal be built. Good old Henry seems to have had a connection to most castles on the South Coast. He was clearly as obsessed with them as we are! Deal is one of the finest Tudor artillery castles in England. It's one of the earliest  among the earliest coastal forts, but there were a group of them built around the same time including Calshot, Camber, Walmer and Pendennis Castles.

The entrance is on a main road, with a drawbridge and impressive gatehouse. 

Once inside we could see Deal is very much a circular shape and if you look at it from above it looks like a flower. 

We wandered round the outside first, a lower bit with cobbled stones and high walls either side. 

Up some steps to the upper level where canons would have fired out at enemies ships on the approach. They had lots of canons in position.

There was also a pile of canon balls strapped to the ground. Not as large or intimidating as the ones we located at Pevensey castle, but pretty good nevertheless.

We've visited almost 40 castles now and it's been clear that some of them were built more as homes, or centres to protect the community. But it's clear from the outset that Deal is a fighting castle to defend the boundaries. Once it stopped being needed to defend the area from invasion it became a home to officers in the Navy and there were a few signs and pictures that show this to be the case. 

You could walk round the whole outer level which has great views across the beach, with boats perched on pebbles and the sea looming in the background.

Next, we decided to tackle the inside and it was quite unlike any castle we've visited so far. I told Chloe it reminded me of Santorini, which she found bizarre, but I made this comparison because it was painted white with interior arches and dome shapes carved throughout the interior. 

Upstairs was mint green, so quite a contrast.

Sadly there was no furniture, which I would have quite liked to see, but Chloe prefers and empty space so she can imagine where things would have gone. 

The downstairs level was the kitchen- made clear by a large hearth, and several hatches in the wall extending our into what looked like modern day pizza ovens. 

Each room seemed to have little nooks and crannies, often with doors and archways, which lead into another room or corridor. It was quite the tardis and much more spacious inside than it looked from the outside.

 There was an original piece of the wall left which was guarded by a thick plastic cover. 

Makes you realise what the rest of the castle would have looked like (or NOT looked like) if English Heritage hadn't restored it.

Worth noting that Deal is about 5 minutes by car to Walmer Castle, really worth a visit! 

Cost: It's free if you're an English Heritage member or £5.80 for paying adults.

Hints and tips: It's not open all year round,so double check before your visit. Being right on the seafront, it can be quite blustery so pack warm clothes. There is a little English Heritage shop with gifts and books to buy if you fancy a souvenir. 

Turret score: I'm not sure which bit to judge, the old bit (no real turrets left) of the new bit (pretty darn good turrets) taking that into account i'd give them a solid 7 out of 10. 

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

Chilham Castle: Kent, England

Number 36- Chilham castle

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. 

Turret score: I'm not sure which bit to judge, the old bit (no real turrets left) of the new bit (pretty darn good turrets) taking that into account i'd give them a solid 7 out of 10. 

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