Leeds Castle

On Steve's last day with me in Maidstone, we visited Leeds Castle. It was quite close by. Luckily, I picked up a pamphlet at Blenheim Palace that had a 2-for-1 admission for Leeds Castle because admission was close to £20. The weather was gorgeous as we headed out after breakfast.

I snagged this aerial shot of Leeds Castle from the internet. It is such a majestic building. I loved how part of it was built in the water. I was really looking forward to visiting it.

It was a very, very long walk through the beautifully maintained grounds to the castle. One of the first things we saw was this fellow. I don't know what happened to his tail. Steve opined that maybe it got damaged, so the games keeper trimmed it.

We had already been walking for 10 or 15 minutes before the castle even hove into view. But I didn't mind. It was a truly enjoyable walk.

This lovely black swan poofed up his feathers and shook his wings at us. I guess it was some kind of threatening display. He stopped as soon as some people who had purchased a bag of bird feed approached.

A beautiful old tree.

I had Steve get into the photo so you can gauge the size of the leaves on this plant. They're massive! And the branches have huge thorns on them, too. This plant means business.

I noticed a lot of people just came here to stroll along in the garden. I understand the attraction. It is gorgeous.

We were finally getting close to the castle.

When we came across a second peacock minus his tail feathers, I realized they were probably being harvested.

At long last, the castle. You don't enter through here, though. You go around the side. Like servants.

The castle was expanded upon across the centuries. It was eventually bought in the early 20th century by a wealthy American woman who threw lavish parties. She then created an historical trust and bequeathed the castle to the public. Most of the interior is left as she designed it and, I'm afraid, that killed my enchantment.

You enter into the oldest part of the castle through the wine cellar.

The stairs were deliberately made of different sizes. This way, marauding bands would trip over them. Clever.

Henry VIII and his Queen, Catherine of Aragon (Wife #1) stayed at Leeds Castle on their way to meet the French King, Francis I, at the Field of Cloth of Gold in 1520. Henry's entourage numbered well over 3,000 people. Catherine's retinue alone was over 1,200. Unfortunately, their rooms, like these here, have been recreated based on paintings from the period.

Elaborate bed chambers such as these (this is the other end of the room above) were rarely used for sleeping. The huge bed was more for the night time ceremonies. During the day, this daybed is where the women would spend their time.

A recreation of the bath room.

The castle has a small chapel adorned with this artwork. It is the ugliest depiction of the nativity I have ever seen. It looks like Mary has mumps.

All of the panels, which depict the birth and early life of Jesus Christ, were carved in Germany in the 16th Century. This particular one isn't quite as ugly as the others, though Baby Jesus is a bit creepy.

Normally I appreciate the skill required to create something like this considering the limited technology. But good grief, was the artist blind? The fat faces actually remind me a bit of the gruff-voiced kid in the last Shrek movie. He had a blond Prince Valiant hair do and kept demanding of Shrek, "Do the roar."

I mean, c'mon. Jesus was not related to Dumbo. I'm sorry to art historians and enthusiasts if I've offended you, but this artwork is awful.

The view here was nice.

The library was lovely. Steve and I got a chuckle reading book titles. There were many books concerned with various British animals, like dogs and birds.

This section includes the complete works of Shakespeare.

A very pretty flower in the garden.

The castle grounds include a play area for the kids, and this maze. The darn thing got us. We had to eventually get a hint to find our way to the central area.

On our way out, we found several peafowl gathered here, including this peahen.

I am sorry to say I was greatly disappointed in Leeds Castle. While the grounds were beautiful, and the castle interior is lovely, the interior lacks the history I want to see. It is primarily British history as seen through the eyes of an American socialite. I guess I'm just a history snob.