I'm going on an adventure part 2

We bid farewell to Hever castle and continued our journey towards Edenbridge and specifically Ashdown Forest, or as it is more widely known - 'The Hundred Acre Wood.'
Unfortunatelyfor us the day that we visited Pooh Corner was a very 'blustery day' and as a result of the great british weather also very muddy so suffice it to say that my Ugg boots were ruined.

However I did get a game of pooh sticks at Pooh bridge where I was sorely beaten three games in a row!

We drove through Battle - aptly named as it was the site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Alas the Battle Abbey was shut - bother so we did not linger.

The evening was spent at the historical city of Rye and specifically The George at Rye. It just so happened to be be Rye Scallop Week whilst we were there so you can imagine what was on the menu that night. 

Onto Bodiam now, the medieval castle built by the knight Edward Dalyngrigge and here we heard a talk about the four humours of the body which in those days were believed to be the key to a healthy lifestyle. 

Alas the final stop on our epic journey through the centuries -both fact and fiction- was Leeds Castle. The impressive castle built mainly on two islands is, like Hever, representative of many eras throughout history. Leeds Castle was principially known as the 'Queen's castle' as it was often passed onto the wives and Queens of medieval kings.

Leeds was the calling point for Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon and a vast entourage of courtiers on the way to The Field Of The Cloth Of Gold in the 1520s as well as going on to be owned by the Culpepper and later Fairfax families. 

Again much like Hever, Leeds castle was also bought and restored by a wealthy American; Lady Olive Baillie.

I'm going on an adventure part 1

A whole millennium in only a few days filled with castles, knights, literary heroes and a bear of very little brain.

On the first day of our adventure we awoke early as Kent was to be our destination. Yet before this we embarked on a journey of the literary world of Charles Dickens. Arguably the most famous of Dickens' novels is 'Oliver Twist' and our guide for the day was the story's very own villain, Bill Sykes.

The tour lasted roughly 90 minutes and we were taken around Victorian Britain as the celebrated author would have known it including a typical Victorian school, town house, class system and even the legend of Sweeny Todd.

The day of literature continued at the next stop in Canterbury. The Canterbury Tales appeared on this season of The Apprentice yet unlike that very unfortunate trip, ours was much more pleasurable. The Canterbury Tales recalls the stories of a group of pilgrims who were on the way Canterbury Cathedral.

The next morning (Sunday) we attended mass at Canterbury Cathedral before returning to our hotel (which was right next door) for breakfast.

After a quick jaunt around the town of Canterbury where we visited the city art museum which included The Essence Of Memory exhibition; the collaborative work of Jill Holder and Bob Lamoon as well as an exhibition upstairs on the life and works of Enid Blyton - where I even got to 'drive' the Noddy car. We stopped off at the ruin of Canterbury castle before getting back into the car. where to now?

Hever castle was the next stop on our trip. The Tudor manor house was the childhood home of George, Mary and Anne Boleyn as I am sure you all know was the ill fated second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I. 

After the destruction of the Boleyn lineage Hever had a variety of different owners including American Lord William Waldorf Astor who is more widely known for building the New York hotel the Waldorf-Astoria. 

 Since the early 1500s the castle has seen many additions including extensions by Thomas Boleyn as the family progressed through the hierarchy of English society as well as the building of a vast 'Tudor Village' by William Waldorf Astor that was to house both his family as well as guests of his lavish parties throughout the early 20s and 30s.

The Tudor Village was to our home for the evening and our room even housed the Lord (James) Astor's own bathtub. Well I can vouch that the owner of the Times Newspaper had a good choice in baths.

The next morning we enjoyed a stroll through the Italian gardens as we pretended to promenade through our estate before being taken on a private tour of the castle.