Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Beyond are greenhouses, a maze, underground grotto, and a vineyard that was recorded
in
The
Domesday Book
(1086) and is once again producing white wine. There is also a
9-hole
golf course,
which is open to the public. You won't go hungry: There are various
cafes including
Fairfax Hall,
a restored 17th-century tithe barn.
7 miles east of Maidstone, off junction 8 of the M20. Trains on the London Victoria-Maidstone/Ashford
International line call at Bearsted, from where there are bus transfers (see Castle website, below).
&
01732/868381.
www.leeds-castle.com. £18 adults, £10 children 4-15. Daily Apr-Sept 10am-5pm;
Oct-Mar until 4pm.
Penshurst Place
HISTORIC SITE Penshurst is one of Britain's out-
standing country houses, as well as one of England's greatest defended manor houses,
standing in a peaceful rural setting that has changed little over the centuries. In 1338,
Sir John de Pulteney, four times lord mayor of London, built the manor house whose
Great Hall still forms the heart of Penshurst. Henry VIII's son, the boy king Edward
VI, presented the house to Sir William Sidney and it has remained in that family ever
since. The Nether Gallery, below the Long Gallery with its suite of ebony-and-ivory
furniture from Goa, houses the Sidney family collection of armor. You can also see
the splendid state dining room. In the Stable Wing is a toy museum, with playthings
from past generations. On the grounds are nature and farm trails plus an adventure
playground for children.
6 miles west of Royal Tunbridge Wells.
&
01892/870307.
www.penshurstplace.co.uk. Admission to
house and grounds £9.80 adults, £6.20 children 5-16, £26 family ticket; grounds only £7.80 adults,
£5.80 children 5-16, £23 family ticket. Daily Apr-Oct, house noon-4pm, grounds 10:30am-6pm (week-
ends only in Mar). From M25 junction follow the A21 to Tunbridge, leaving at the Tunbridge (north) exit;
then follow the brown tourist signs.
Sissinghurst Castle Garden
GARDEN In 1930 Bloomsbury set writer and
noted gardener Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat husband Harold Nicolson moved
into the property. The grounds had fallen into sorry disrepair but in the years that fol-
lowed Vita turned them around, using the ruins of an Elizabethan manor to which they
belong as a focal point. Today they are truly spectacular. In spring, the gardens are
awash with flowering bulbs and daffodils fill the orchard. The white garden reaches its
peak in June. The large herb garden, a skillful montage that reflects Sackville-West's
profound plant knowledge, has something to show all summer long. The cottage gar-
den, with its flowering bulbs, is at its finest as summer fades, while an on-site restaurant
uses fruit and vegetables from the gardens and meat from the tenant farmer.
Sissinghurst, near Cranbrook.
&
01580/710700.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk. Admission £9.50 adults,
£4.70 children 5-15, £24 family ticket. Mid-Mar-Oct Fri-Tues 10:30am-5pm. Estate daily dawn-dusk,
free. 53 miles southeast of London. It's often approached from Leeds Castle, which is 4 miles east of
Maidstone at the junction of the A20 and M20. From this junction, head south on the B2163 and A274
through Headcorn. Follow the signposts to Sissinghurst.
Squerryes Court
HISTORIC SITE This manor house, built in 1861, has been owned
by the Warde family for 250 years. British General James Wolfe, who commanded forces
in the bombardment of Quebec, lived here. There are still pictures and relics of his family
on display. The Wardes have restored the formal gardens using an 18th-century plan, with
avenues, parterres, and hedges, as well as adding borders, spring bulbs, and old roses for
year-round tones. There is a fine collection of Old Master paintings from the Italian, 17th-
century Dutch, and 18th-century English schools, along with antiques, porcelain, and
tapestries, but if time is limited the gardens are what you should see. General Wolfe
received his commission on the grounds—the spot is marked by a cenotaph.
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