Leaves for Leontien

 

Tonbridge Castle

The Gatehouse.

Yes, another castle, it seems to be the year for Castles and stately homes for me this year! Tonbridge Castle was started in the 11th century. It is a Motte and Bailey Castle but sadly only the Gatehouse remains. We visited in October on our weeks holiday, and this one was my husbands choice. However you know me by now, anywhere different that I can take photos is just fine by me

The Castle taken from the bridge over the River Medway.

Looking down towards Tonbridge town fro the steps leading up to the Castle.

The Gatehouse from outside the Castle.

I had never been either to Tonbridge or the Castle before, so it was a new experience all round. Tonbridge is a pretty little town on the River Medway, and we were lucky that once again the sun was shining. After a quick look round the town we made our way to the Castle. The site is on a hill above the town and although there is not much of the castle left the setting is lovely.

I liked this statue.

The ground level room, showing the staircase going up in the corner.

The cellar room.

Hmm well my husband went down there..

The Gatehouse is open to the Public, the key is held in the Tourist Information Office nearby. We were the only visitors at this time which was really nice. The entrance is on the ground floor, with stairs leading up to the first floor, and down to the cellars, we chose to go down first to the cellar, there are various display cases in this room and while I was busy taking photos my husband disappeared….now where did he go? Ah where does this big door lead to?? It lead to a very dark passage, which in turn lead to a couple of very dark rooms with models of store men working. I have to say it was pretty spooky down there, so I made sure I left at the same time as my husband!! We then went back up to the ground floor and took the spiral staircase to the first floor, a lovely big room stretching right across the tower. This would have been where the soldiers lived and defended the Castle. There are arrow slits in the walls and glass covered holes in the floor, which used to be where the boiling oil and other things could be poured down if any enemies managed to get through the portcullis. The portcullis is no longer there but the site of it is cleverly shown on the wall using lights.

The spooky room at the end of the dark passage.

So this is where they keep the wine!

Looking down the spiral staircase.

Looking up the spiral staircase.

Up another staircase to a gallery and some smaller rooms including the garderobe (the wardrobe and the toilet!) which also had a model showing how the garderobe  was used haha.

Arrow slits in the first floor room.

The first floor room showing the position of the portcullis and the holes in the floor.

I noticed the staircase went up again, oh goody it led to the roof! You all know I like getting onto the roofs of places I visit if I possibly can so I left my husband to go back down to the first floor while I went up to the roof. As always when you are at a height like that, the view is amazing. This is the only roof I have been on this year, I must be slipping!!

The Garderobe, I wonder how long this poor guy has been sitting here??

On the roof

Looking down over part of Tonbridge.

We made our way down to the ground floor and left the building. The Gatehouse is only small but it was well worth a visit, it is in a beautiful setting and we walked back to the car along the riverbank. Another really nice day out

The Castle and bridge from the riverside.

A colourful narrow boat on the river.

A blog award

The Tudor Village at Hever Castle.

I was surprised and very pleased to receive a blog award from Arlene this week, thank you very much Arlene I have put my lovely award on my home page and below:

TO POPPY FOR AN INTERESTING BLOG ON HER TRAVELS

An award for a well travelled lady

This award made me realize that I have been well travelled this year, far more than is usual for me. The reason for all the visits to the stately homes etc. is because about this time last year I applied for some free tickets from My Big Kent Weekend. You can apply for three places, then on a given day all the names are entered into a draw. I was lucky enough to win 2 tickets to visit Sissinghurst Castle way back in March. You will know that we had a great time, of course I took a lot of photos. The My Big Kent Weekend website invite you to upload photos of your visit, which in turn also go into a competition…I uploaded 4 photos of Sissinghurst Castle, and won the first prize in the ‘places’ category My prize was a years membership to English Heritage for two people. A lovely prize I think you will agree. Not only that, when the prizewinning letter arrived enclosed was a small booklet allowing myself and one other person free entrance to 6 attractions of our choice (from a list provided) but these were not all English Heritage. The vouchers are only in date until the end of December, and no way was I going to waste them, so we have had great fun visiting an assortment of places We have used 5 of these vouchers and as the weather is against visiting a lot of outdoor attractions the last voucher is going to be used for a visit to Canterbury Cathedral with my friend and photo buddy Sheila.

A visitor to our garden last week.

The doorway of Walmer Castle, in black and white to add atmosphere.

Dawn over Deal pier.

I am at the moment gathering photos for a photobook. I did one with some of my China photos, and it turned out so lovely I have decided to get another one with some of my better photos from the last few years. Last night I started at 2007, when I had a very basic ‘point and shoot’ camera. It has been very interesting as I can see how much my photography has improved over the last few years, and has made me realize what fun I have had getting those photos.

Taken on Deal Pier.

I have added some assorted photos from this year, ones that have not made it into any of the blogs, but ones I hope you will enjoy looking at. 

Whitstable Harbour.

Westenhanger Castle and Medieval Barns

The Medieval barn with the amazing hammerbeam roof.

Last week we had a weeks leave, so we took the opportunity of visiting Westenhanger Castle and Medieval Barns, which are truly  hidden gems. Anyone visiting Folkestone Racecourse will know the Castle, as is right next to the racecourse. The Castle can be seen from the trains running from Dover to London, but we had never had the opportunity to visit before now. The Castle is only open to the Public on Tuesdays during the summer, but the site is very well known as a wonderful wedding venue. It is the perfect place for a wedding, with a fantastic setting and a large marquee in the garden, which is beautifully set up. My daughter now has an idea of where she would like to get married, when the time comes!

The original castle entrance.

The Tudor range of buildings.

There have been buildings on this site since the 11th century, with the original castle being built in the 14th century. The remains of numerous Tudor buildings can be seen whilst walking round the site, and a Manor house was built within the castle walls in the 18th century. There has been a lot of alterations to the site over the hundreds of years of its history.

Rosamund’s Tower.

Inside Rosamund’s Tower.

The well.

One of the circular towers was used to hold prisoners whilst another is the dovecote, this is attached to the Tudor kitchens. There is a lot of building work being done at the Castle, the Tudor kitchens are being restored at the moment, we will be going back to see them when they are finished.

The entrance to the Tudor kitchens, the renovation work can be clearly seen.

A Tudor oven, undergoing restoration.

Inside the Dovecote.

There is a large square tower in the middle of the North Wall of the castle known as Rosamund’s Tower. This was named for Rosamund de Clifford, mistress of Henry ll who stayed at the castle. Rosamund’s ghost is said to be seen walking along the wall at times.

The Manor House

the ship in the garden

The side of the Manor House and the Dovecote Tower.

Replica of The Discovery.

There is a designated way to walk round the castle and grounds, this is such a good idea, as it ensures that we got to see everything. You will notice the ship in the garden, this is a copy of the Discovery, one of three ships that left London in 1606 bound for the New World and paid for by the then owner of Westenhanger, Sir Thomas Smythe, the son of Thomas ‘Customer’ Smythe.

Rosamund’s Tower with the Medieval Barn in the background.

The tour of the Castle ends at the beautiful medieval Barn with the stables behind, the barn has been restored, the stables are still undergoing restoration. The hammerbeam roof of the barn is truly magnificent, and is a high status structure, Westminster Hall and Stirling Castle being two more examples of this sort of roof. The barn was built in c1578 by Thomas ‘Customer’ Smythe, and represents the wealth and standing of the owner at that time.

 

The Medieval Barn.

Inside the Medieval Barn, a wonderful sight.

 

Westenhanger Castle and barns are most certainly worth a visit, the restoration of the buildings is on-going, the work that has already been done on the site is amazing, all credit to the present owners of the site. Although it wasn’t the best weather for visiting my husband, daughter and myself had a lovely time walking round, and would recommend this site to anyone

Finally two photos of chainsaw art in or near the Barn, I love the dragon