So we had a bunch of guests over July and spent a lot of time in London, shuffling around some of the tourist sites in the miserable heat. After a while, we decided to get out of town and take a day trip to nearby Leed's castle. It was an easy getaway - we had a leisurely morning, then hopped on the tube to Victoria station where we grabbed lunch to eat on a quick 1 hour train south east to Bearsted, where we hopped in a shuttle to take us the 10-min drive to the castle.
relaxing on a train
The Castle
So first up, we swung by the visitors' center for a quick video that explained the history of the castle going way back to the wives of Henry VIII. Then we went into the main castle building and explored. There were some very cool older rooms with awesome floors and ceilings, and then a few rooms that had been renovated in the 20's - not as cool, but still nice to see.
elaborate ceiling beams
butterfly joints in all the floor boards
someone already crashing
After the castle, we went to explore the grounds - which included some lovely gardens, an awesome hedge maze, and a grotto. The rest of the group continued on to the falconry, but I started back with the kiddo towards the front gate.
hedge maze
grotto
hiding in a tree
squishing the hedges
So - the grounds actually stayed open a few hours later, but we had to rush to catch the last shuttle back to the train station. We had pretty much seen everything, but it would've been nice to have another half hour or so and not feel rushed. Everyone was happy to sit for a while on the train, and then we were back home in time for an easy dinner. All in all, it was a little rushed but a really nice day trip. I'm glad we finally got there and didn't try to also stop by Canterbury, which is very nearby but would've been way too rushed. We'll save that for another weekend.
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