Leeds Castle - May 24/25 2009

Completed :- April 16, 2009 @ 20.53

Leeds - Leeds Castle - Kim had a long weekend (woo hoo) which mean, that we had 2 days off in a row. As you probably know from other pages, Kim works 6 days a week, so getting 2 days off is a luxury. We wanted to go and see Leeds Castle. Anyone know where Leeds Castle is? If Edinburgh Castle is in Edinburgh, and Sterling Castle is in Sterling, then Leeds Castle must be in Leeds. So, I went onto the internet and booked a hotel in Leeds. When I put the hotel address into the SatNav, Lady said it would take 4 hours to get there. That's OK, I guess. Kim thought that was a little long, since the castle is only in Kent. We checked the "paper" map (use it yearly now since we got the SatNav) and found that Leeds Castle if fact, is no where near Leeds. Oops. So, I ran into the house, and, luckily was able to change the booking to a hotel in Folkestone. Not super close, but at least it was in the same county.

Folkestone - After we found our quaint old hotel (which I think was Victorian) we decided to explore our new home. Just down the road from us, was The Channel. Considering what a beautiful day it was, there was hardly anyone out.

We continued down the coast and came upon the famous Folkestone Caves.

Seth was able to find a little chair embedded in the rocks.

Here is Seth and me enjoying the sun, with the grass and beach behind us.

Here we are looking across The Channel at France (yes, that's France). I'm using a regular digital camera (Olympus) and it took me many many shots to take this picture. The problem was that we could visibally see France, however, digital cameras have autofocus, and since it was a bit misty (and about 20miles away) the camera didn't want to take the picture.

Here are Kim and Seth at the top of the caves.
If you go back to the original picture of the caves, you probably didn't notice that there are nice barriers and the pathways zig-zag up the hill. That's very nice of Mother Nature - to make the walking easier and the paths pram friendly. In actual fact (no really, scroll back up) the caves, and the entire cliff is man-made. If you look at the picture Seth, you'll see that his chair needs a respray.

Here's another picture of Kim and Seth at the top of the cliffs.

Leeds Castle - After leaving Folkestone, feeling well rested, we were off to Leeds Castle. I think pretty much everyone has seen a peacock. Shiny blue neck, crown, with its plumage in tow. Occassionally, you are blessed, and it will have its full plumage on display. I have never seen a while peacock before, and we were treated to an almost blizzard of white. On the left, we have a normal peacock displaying his plumage as well.
Just in the top right corner, you can see (above the two photograpers) Leeds Castle. Obvioulsy more on that later, as we continue down the path.

Sadly, "Bluie" (for lack of a better name) knows that he's been beaten, by his fuller feathered friend, and has decided to put away his hardware and try his hand somewhere else. That being said, in this section, we only saw these two and pigeons and ducks. So, there was no ladys around to impress.

Here are some geese, far far from home. That being said, you know the economy is picking up, as there are Canadian Geese all over the place!

This is the last picture that we have of Seth, before the "child eating tree" ate him.

Here is our first full glimpse of the front (or I guess side) of Leeds Castle. The front really would be thru the archway on the far right, then over a couple of bridges on the nearest right.
Scroll to the right to see the entire picture.

Continuing along the path, we find the lake behind the castle. In the olden days, their swimmers were in much better shape, as they still had to do 50 laps before their breakfast!
Scroll to the right to see the entire picture.

After a quick tour of the grounds, we decided to enter the castle. Fortunately it was well before 5.00pm, so we were safe! This has been part of the castle's tradition. Invaders were not permitted to attack after 5.00pm, as that was their tea time.

Here is the front of the palace. And, NO, you're NOT allowed to go on the grass! Those birds are in such big trouble now! Henry VIIIth would have known what to do with them!

Looking to the right of the above building, we have the guards living quarters. That's not too bad of barracks -- I've seen much worse!

Remember in the last picture, we showed you the entrance - well, that was "The Royal Entrance". Since you and me aren't of any royal blood, we have to enter from the side and bottom of the castle. Oh, the shame.
From the front entrance two pics above, it looks like the back building is just (this will sound stupid) to the back of the main building (go ahead, scroll back up).
However, it is actually attached via a narrow walkway that joins the two buildings. The back section has been built in the lake.

This poor guy has been standing guard since Henry VIII told him to. Only problem, is that someone shut the gate and locked him in. Obviously not the case, but here is some ancient armour.

And here is what the soldier would be using -- three different types of spear. Wicked. Glad I'm not arround in that time. On the left, you can just see Seth admiring it.

This is the bathroom. Notice there are buckets becide the bath, so one would have to fill it for HM (His/Her Magesty) and then they'd be able to cover themselves using the royal curtains. I wonder when the royal shower was invented (no - really - just that it's easier to have a shower).

Inbetween the two buildings (main and one in the lake) was this little courtyard with an active fountain.

I think this is either a statue of the (at the time) reigning Queen or Mary, holding and watching over a sculpture of a tower.

These are all the monarchs that lived/stayed in the castle. Obviously there is Henry VIII and Queen Mary, but I'm not really sure on the rest. Should have studied more in history.

Behind one of the walls, lays the hidden "Powder Room". We weren't allowed into it, but from this angle, it seems like it was very well layed out, and quite big. I'm not sure how easily it would be to actually hide his room, based on its size.

This is quite aply named, "The Blue Bedroom". Even though it was painted hundreds of years ago, you can still appreciate the care and attention that has gone into the colour scheme. It is very graceful, and not gawdy. And, if you look in the mirror, there is a ghost that almost resembles Kim - maybe Kim does have some royal blood!

Here is one room that has been converted into a study. Personally, I think I'd make the rooms in the centre and the study on the lake walls. That way if you get invaded, you won't be sleeping, and when you're working in your study, you have a breathtaking view.

The next room is a very elegant dining room. Look around the room - after you've looked at, I'll point out something that I found intreguing.
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On the picture above, is the grim reaper "assisting" someone along their way on the wall clock. That seems kinda morbid for a dining room clock, don't you think?

This old house has been converted into a restaurant, and you're allowed to have picnic's on the lawn. Just off to the left is where you can take the land-train (looks like a train, sounds like a truck with several trailors) back to the car-park. Personally, I'd recommend taking it, as your feet will be killing you by this point, and it's a nice relaxing trip. If you take it both ways, you'll miss the snow-peacock and the child-eating-tree. I'm thinking now, there's going to be a mad rush for people to try out the child-eating-tree.

And, finally, to mark the end of our trip, here is the end (or back) of the castle. You may have noticed that only on this picture, there are scruffy plants, where as nowhere else they're kept like that. These are of course daffidills at the end of their season, and they are left to fade away peacefully before they're mown over for the grass to take over for another year.
Scroll to the right to see the entire picture.

Good-bye Henry VIIIth, all his relatives and friends.