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Le weekend dernier
I meant to post this yesterday but I got sidetracked playing with the very simple version of photoshop I've got on here and didn't get around to it. But today, I've been playing around with it using some of the photos I took over the weekend and here are the results.
We'd decided a few weeks back to make use of the one-year-ticket we'd acquired at Leeds Castle last autumn when we visited and for once, we appear to have picked the right time to go, because the weather was glorious. We had a jam-free trip from home to Leeds which meant the journey only took 1 hour 40 minutes! I don't expect that'll ever happen again.
Anyway, we spent most of the day at Leeds in the grounds. I confess, while I like going around country piles and the like, I'm generally more interested in architecture, stonework, woodwork etc than I am in all the soft-furnishings etc. in the interior of these places, but Leeds is a bit of an exception. It's a "castle" but it's not huge, and although the interior has of course been changed over the years it still keeps the feel of being a castle - there's lots of nice stonework and carvings and some of the rooms are laid out as they would have been back when it was first built.
The thing Leeds is most famous for though, is its setting on the lake.
Oh, and the peacocks :-)
The next day, we'd decided to go to Sissinghurst Castle, which isn't at all castle-y and is in fact best known for the gardens which were laid out by Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West in the 1930s - but when we looked at the map and saw how close we were to Hastings, we decided to head there first to visit the site of THE battle at - Battle.
The Abbey itself, which William the Conqueror ordered built as a memorial to the dead, is a ruin, but the magnificent gatehouse, which was rebuilt in the 14th century remains as does the Refectory (I think) which is now used as a very posh looking school.
We had a very quick look around the high street of the town, and it's lovely - a typical English market town.
We arrived at Sissinghurst in the late afternoon and had a nice wander around the gardens. I think we were a bit early in the year to enjoy them at their best - in a few weeks (especially if the weather stays like this!) it'll be an absolute riot of colour.
The surprise of the visit was Rochester. We went there on Sunday night for a meal and were really impressed with what we saw of the town, so we went back on Tuesday to go to the castle and cathedral. We ended up spending all morning in the park in which the castle is situated (opposite the cathedral) - it's quite high up, so there's a great view over the river Medway as well, and it was just so nice to be able to sit in the sunshine and chill out for a bit. We also visitedUpnor Castle, another of the Medway castles, but I didn't get any good photos. It's best seen from the river - but it's basically a ruin and seems to have been more of a garrison than somewhere people lived.
Then it was back around the M25 to sit in the traffic waiting to get through the Dartford Tunnel :(
Oh - I almost forgot. I couldn't not share this...
You could be forgiven for thinking that my younger daughter is in the habit of getting dressed in the dark.
:-)
We'd decided a few weeks back to make use of the one-year-ticket we'd acquired at Leeds Castle last autumn when we visited and for once, we appear to have picked the right time to go, because the weather was glorious. We had a jam-free trip from home to Leeds which meant the journey only took 1 hour 40 minutes! I don't expect that'll ever happen again.
Anyway, we spent most of the day at Leeds in the grounds. I confess, while I like going around country piles and the like, I'm generally more interested in architecture, stonework, woodwork etc than I am in all the soft-furnishings etc. in the interior of these places, but Leeds is a bit of an exception. It's a "castle" but it's not huge, and although the interior has of course been changed over the years it still keeps the feel of being a castle - there's lots of nice stonework and carvings and some of the rooms are laid out as they would have been back when it was first built.
The thing Leeds is most famous for though, is its setting on the lake.
Oh, and the peacocks :-)
The next day, we'd decided to go to Sissinghurst Castle, which isn't at all castle-y and is in fact best known for the gardens which were laid out by Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West in the 1930s - but when we looked at the map and saw how close we were to Hastings, we decided to head there first to visit the site of THE battle at - Battle.
The Abbey itself, which William the Conqueror ordered built as a memorial to the dead, is a ruin, but the magnificent gatehouse, which was rebuilt in the 14th century remains as does the Refectory (I think) which is now used as a very posh looking school.
We had a very quick look around the high street of the town, and it's lovely - a typical English market town.
We arrived at Sissinghurst in the late afternoon and had a nice wander around the gardens. I think we were a bit early in the year to enjoy them at their best - in a few weeks (especially if the weather stays like this!) it'll be an absolute riot of colour.
The surprise of the visit was Rochester. We went there on Sunday night for a meal and were really impressed with what we saw of the town, so we went back on Tuesday to go to the castle and cathedral. We ended up spending all morning in the park in which the castle is situated (opposite the cathedral) - it's quite high up, so there's a great view over the river Medway as well, and it was just so nice to be able to sit in the sunshine and chill out for a bit. We also visited
Then it was back around the M25 to sit in the traffic waiting to get through the Dartford Tunnel :(
Oh - I almost forgot. I couldn't not share this...
You could be forgiven for thinking that my younger daughter is in the habit of getting dressed in the dark.
:-)
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;-)