A couple of days touring the Garden of England
| Recommended days | 2 |
| Budget | £ |
| Difficulty | Easy |
May in England can be absolutely glorious and this was one of those weekends that lived up to the hype! It was so nice we just had to go away so we decided to spend the weekend enjoying a Kent road trip.
Once you’re away from the main roads Kent and East Sussex have some beautiful villages and it’s fascinating to drive around and just take in the scenery.
Rochester Castle
Luckily, the scenery is backed up with some amazing properties and this weekend we made use of our National trust and English heritage memberships by visiting 4 of them. We decided to get the longest journey out the way first and headed to Rochester, a small town on the river Medway.
Rochester Castle is probably best known for its role in the Barons War against King John. It’s a classic Norman keep that held out against King John until he used pig fat to ignite a mine under one of the towers and then starved the survivors into submission.
You can wander through the interior and grounds and climb three floors to the wall walk for views over the town. The town looks pretty and we stopped for coffee before continuing our drive.
Sissinghurst Gardens
Our next stop was Sissinghurst Gardens, somewhere that Deb has wanted to go to for a while. Of course by now the blue skies that we had in Bristol had been transformed into an overcast and dull afternoon. The building that are still here have been heavily restored by the National Trust and they included a very welcome restaurant.
I’m no gardener but even I enjoyed the mix of formal and informal gardens and the whole setting. Certainly a tranquil place to spend an afternoon and it was nice just looking at the gardens from the top of the tower.
Scotney Castle
The next morning we headed to one of the most photogenic castles in the country. On a calm day Scotney is absolutely gorgeous – the reflections from the controlled decay of the building are lovely to look at. We arrived early and – almost a first – the gardens were pretty much empty of other visitors.
Igtham Mote
Continuing the theme of moats and reflections our final stop was another National Trust property at Igtham Mote. This is another beautiful property and has was undergoing interior restoration when we visited so soon you’ll be able to go inside too.
Kent made for an easy road trip and a very pleasant weekend, without leaving the country. Organisations such as English Heritage and National Trust really are excellent for giving you a reason to go off exploring without having to spend a fortune. It was nice to visit 3 new properties, all within a few hours of home.
2010
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