EAST SUSSEX AND KENT: HEVER CASTLE, SCOTNEY AND THE GLORIES OF Sissinghurst

Day 2 of our long weekend:

Day 1 here : East Sussex and Kent – Gardens, Castles and Country Houses   Day 3
East Sussex and KENT:Rye, Bodiam, Bateman’s and Leeds castle Day 4East Sussex and Kent(Final Day)

Leaving Mickleham

After gallons of tea for breakfast, we had a wander through tiny Mickleham, mainly to see the lovely old church with its witch’s hat steeple.A fascinating place.I love wandering through pretty villages and there are plenty of those in England.Very interesting it was too with a 16th century Inn , The Running Horses.

HEVER CASTLE

It was just under an hour’s drive to Hever and we arrived about 10 mins before opening.A queue already! Overcast skies but dry and 10am found us strolling through the grounds.The castle itself didn’t open until 11am, giving us plenty of time to explore the gardens. Luckily, because we had Royal Botanic Gardens’ membership, we had a 2 for 1 deal on entry.

I’d long admired this 14^th century abode of Anne Boleyn after watching The Tudors on TV and it didn’t disappoint.It was exquisite!

The grounds (125 acres) were delightful – the Italian Garden was so beautiful, with stone terraces and columns overlooking a large lake, mirror calm.

The Rose Garden – I love roses! – had 1000 roses, all in bloom.No scent from any of the varieties but what a spectacle.I assume that’s why they were chosen though I do love a scented rose.But what a display, one of the finest I’ve seen anywhere.

Then a wander up to the higher level paths which rewarded us with Hydrangeas and Pine Trees and stunning views down to the castle itself.

At 11am, Hever’s great wooden doors opened and in we went.I was so excited about seeing Anne Boleyn’s home, history really was coming alive! 

Inside, the Tudor era rooms were all lined with gorgeous dark wood panelling, fine antique furniture, portraits of Henry, memorabilia and letters which belonged to Anne Boleyn herself including her Book of Hours.

We spent quite a long time inside Hever, so much to see and take in…

Anne Boleyn…

One of the bedrooms…

There wereviews out to the gorgeous old timbered buildings within the wider grounds.In fact, the whole place was a marvel I thought.

One final room held a grisly display of all things related to executions …grotesque masks and axes, torture implements, restraining apparatus.Oh, it made you shudder! Poor Anne Boleyn,  convicted on trumped up charges! The depiction of her execution in The Tudors still gives me the shivers.She was granted death by the sword rather than the axe which, administered by a skilled swordsman, was considered to be swifter and cleaner.

‘I heard say the executioner is very good and I have a little neck…’ she is reported to have said. 

Henry married Jane Seymour 11 days later.

SCOTNEY CASTLE(14th century)

With some sobering images in mind, we had a 40 min drive heading east which took us to Castle No 2.

The countryside was very pleasant now, well-kept rolling farmland developing into the High Weald – very attractive indeed.

Drizzle began as we arrived at the National Trust car park, enjoying free entry again given we are National Trust for Scotland members.

A steep gravel track led us down to the moat , where sat the ruin of the old castle itself, as picturesque a scene as you could wish for. Another wow moment…

The woodland grounds and gardens were deliberately developed round the ruin, to create this ‘pretty as a picture’ landscape – and it has certainly worked.

Took SO many photos then explored the tower and some of the extensive grounds.

Then we returned uphill through the more formal gardens, all beautifully planted with roses and with some wonderful examples of my favourite Hydrangeas, Paniculata and Macrophylla.

We didn’t think there would be much to see in the ‘new ‘ house but it turned out to be really worthwhile – a grand country home, yet feeling homely and lived in, with lovely watercolours by one of the family.

I was desperate for tea so it was café time. Chaos! It was nearly lunchtime by now and the interior was mobbed, Maw, Paw and the Weans creating a hubbub of noise, chatter, seats scraping on the floor, cutlery falling, children squealing…a contrast to the calm we’d just come from!

This was one of the poorest cafes of the whole trip, with disinterested staff and lacklustre cakes and soup on offer.

Ah well…onwards and upwards!

SISSINGHURST CASTLE AND GARDENS

After these two wonderful visits, next on the list was Sissinghurst,  the main reason we’d made this trip south.Always a worry bead at the best of times, I couldn’t help feel that it couldn’t possibly compare to the beautiful and fascinating castles we’d just seen.

 Wrong! (a common occurrence)

In fact , this marvel created by the writer Vita Sackville West and her husband in the 1930s,  turned out to be one of the most beautiful, man – made creations I’ve seen anywhere on our travels. In its own way, it is, for me, up there with – to name a few-  the Alhambra, Cordoba’s Mosque/Cathedral, the Chrysler building, Rome’s Pantheon and the Eiffel Tower when lit up at night with 20,000 lights.

Sissinghurst truly lives up to its description as the epitome of an English garden.

When she first saw Sissinghurst( at the time simply a farm with a ‘fairy tale’ castle) Vita Sackville West said that she completely fell in love with it.She and her husband then went on to create the exuberant, life affirming place it remains today.

We were lucky because it was now a warm, sunny July day, perfect for seeing the gardens at their best.

The entrance was through Sissinghurst Castle, where Sackville West had her study.An interesting place inside, very lovely, plus a tower to climb, giving fine views over the rich Kent countryside.Coming from Scotland, we are so used to a mountainous landscape but there truly is something calming and really beautiful about the wooded, rolling hills of the High Weald.

The gardens have been divided into multiple ‘rooms’ all planted with largely the same colour or sometimes complimentary colours – there was the Blue Garden; the Red/Orange or Sunset Garden to the south, a Purple Garden and most famous of all, the White Garden.

Photos really don’t do it justice.I don’t think anything does unless you are there on a bright summer day when the mix of cottage garden plants of yesteryear, great bunches of wild flowers such as Meadowsweet and Cow Parsley, tall white Irises and Ox Eye Daisies, Hydrangeas, white Roses , all mixed up in an apparent jumble together (but actually deliberately and artfully done) offset by grey and green foliage – it all harmonised into something quite magical.I’ve never seen anything like it.

I walked through the White Garden many times, just unable to leave it, it was so beautiful.There was nothing formal about it; it was a riot of white, plants of different height and shape, barely an inch of unplanted earth to be seen and all set against the rich pink brickwork of Kent.It had the sort of visual impact which left me speechless, to be honest. Cliched though that idea is, it really was true.

A further wonder at Sissinghurst (and of Kent in general) were the numerous Oast buildings, drying kilns from yesteryear, with their distinctive conical roofs.These added a Dutch quality to the landscape.

The café was almost closing but looked to be a gorgeous wee place with lovely views over  the countryside.Little jugs of freshly cut flowers were on every table, a feature in the main castle itself too.

I really felt as if I was walking on air as we ambled back to the car. Sissinghurst had exceeded expectations many, many times over and I can’t imagine this first visit being my last (God willing.)Anyone interested in gardens MUST visit Sissinghurst!

After an easy 40 min drive , we arrived in Mersham and a few miles from the village, all on its own, was Gill Farm where we had booked an Airbnb for the night.Found it quite easily, down a long narrow road and we both loved it right away.There was a lovely big house where the owner lived and opposite that and within the farm’s huge grounds, was our studio, The Stables, with its own terrace overlooking a small lake and fields.

We’d picked up food on route – cold cooked chicken, tomatoes, bread, cheese, chilli olives- and now sat in the warm sunshine with a glass of Cava, musing over the day and how brilliant it had been.Often, neither of us can be bothered going back out again to eat as we are on the go so much, plus we wanted to enjoy this lovely, quiet, pretty location as we were the only guests.

Met the owner, a very friendly lady with two equally friendly collies and then were left to our own devices. I must say, we use Airbnb a lot and have always found it excellent though of course, you have to do your homework.

It was a gorgeous place to stay, a great choice after another busy day and the perfect place to contemplate tomorrow’s list of ‘must sees.’

Day 3: Bodiam Castle, Rye Village, Bateman’s and a stay at Leeds Castle.