The Garden of England

May 15 Day 8

Today we went to Leeds Castle in the Kent countryside. It was absolutely beautiful. The castle sat on two islands in a man-made moat surrounded by 100's of acres of beautiful parkland. There were flowers, trees and birds of every variety. There were forests and lakes as well. Someone living in that castle could be quite content to live there and never venture outside the property. The castle was more of a home than a fortress, and was used by the royal family until about the 1600's, when it went into private hands. The last owner was a wealthy American heiress who married a British Lord, who lived there from the 1920's until she died in 1974. Half of the interior of the castle reflected the style of the 1500's during the reign of King Henry VIII, and the other half decorated in the style of the 1930's. It amazed us that people lived in such opulence during the Great Depression.This tree is a cedar of Lebanon

We thoroughly enjoyed the grounds around the castle, and had a nice picnic lunch overlooking the castle and the surrounding moat. THere were tons of people there, lots of French tourists, and families laying their blankets on the grass and just enjoying a nice sunny Saturday. Isn't it nice that the public can enjoy these things that at one time only the rich could?

We then drove to a medieval town near the coast called Rye. IT was at one time a seaport at the mouth of a river, but about the 15th century, silt from the river began to extend the coastline away from the town, until now it is two miles from the coast. So now it survives as a tourist town, preserved as it was 500 years ago. It was so much fun to wander through these narrow cobble-stoned streets with medieval buildings. One thing I noticed is that people at that time must have been pretty short, because I would have bumped my head on most of the doorways.

This is one of the ancient gates to the town of Rye

This reminded me of Bob Cratchit's house on the Muppet Christmas Carol

Various street scenes from Rye

For dinner, we stopped at the Red Lion, a local eating and drinking establishment located in the town of Bridge where we were staying. We got there at 6PM, and the proprietor was just opening up for the evening. We was very friendly and talkative, as was all of the staff. I think later on in the evening it appeals mainly to a drinking crowd. I had fish and chips, which is one of the menu items on my list of things I plan to have while I am here. My list includes fish and chips, Cornish pasties, bangers and mash, Welsh rarebit, Yorkshire pudding, and Haggis. I'll let you know how I do with this task.Where we had dinner in Bridge

This is where we stayed in Bridge, which is only a few miles from Canterbury