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Spitfires filled the air during the Battle of Britain
over Leeds Castle
It was hard lining the plane and castle up. |
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| The sundial told the time in Virginia - they other home |
I always wanted to see Leeds Castle - but thought it was by Leeds - the city - which is a couple of hours north of London. I am shamed to find out that it is NOT anywhere near Leeds. It is half way between London and Dover - the city on the English Channel. I found this out on the bus on the way. FSU offers group trips to students - and we went along on the bus. Normally the castle costs 25 pounds - but on our group - the trip was 14 pounds including the bus! Lulu went free - she was working.
Leeds Castle started in 957 AD - named after Saxon Chief Leed. It was used off and on through history. It is on an island surrounded by a moat - just a classic castle.
In the 1500s - King Henry the VIII kept his first wife Catherine of Aragon here. You all know he wanted to divorce her and the pope said no. So Henry broke away from the Catholic Church and formed the protestant Church of England.
In the 1900s - Lady Baillie bought the castle for 180,000 pounds. She did a complete restoration - including modern plumbing and electricity. Thanks to her work - the castle was kept well. When she died in the 1970s - she left it to the country.
During World War II - the Battle of Britain took place in the skies over this castle. Lady Baillie turned the castle into a country club for the pilots - and a hospital for the pilots shot down. There is much documentation about this romantic time.
The restoration has all of the rooms in usable shape. You can even rent some of them to use today. People have weddings and parties there.
They also have a maze - gardens - a Battle of Britain Show - boat rides - train rides - a restaurant - and collections.
It looks us 90 minutes to get there - and also back. We had to pass through London during rush hours. FSU took two full buses. Weather was perfect - the castle was not very crowded. We had a picnic lunch on the green in front of the castle.
We have visited to many castles and cathedrals on our trip. They blend together. This one is a bit different - the moat - the relatively modern interior.
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| A moat surrounded the Castle |
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| Gardens and walls |
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| The Castle had a library |
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| This building was built late - in 1822 |
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| We had lunch on the grass |
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| Dog collar collection |
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| The Castle was right in the middle of WWII |
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| A real nice multi-media war show |
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| Students enjoyed the maze |
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| Neat playground |
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| Unrestored walls |
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| Black Swans were castle logo |
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| Lots of grounds to walk |
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| For 50 years Lady Baillie lived here |
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| Neat bridge between islands |
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