Maidstone; Saturday, 15 January, 2022

A quick breakfast in the hotel and then the 10 minute walk down to the bus stop for the bus out to my first stop of the day at Leeds castle.

There’s been a castle on the site since Norman times, taking advantage of two islands in a lake to create a fortified space protected by a natural moat. Over the centuries multiple buildings have been constructed, reconstructed, demolished and rebuilt to create the buildings that exist today. To the rear of the site is the mostly Tudor castle building with a later manor house type building on the main island.

The bus stop is about a 10 minute walk from the ticket office at Leeds Castle, though I took longer to get there as the thick fog and slippery conditions underfoot made it a less than pleasant walk – having to listen out, rather than being able to see cars to cross the road being particularly unpleasant, but I eventually made it into the castle grounds.

From the ticket office it’s another 10-15 minute walk through the grounds to the castle, and I’d clearly arrived at the right time as the fog was starting to clear, leading to some impressive views of the lakes and buildings starting to appear out from the mists. By the time I actually reached the castle itself the skies were pretty clear and the sun had broken through.

I followed the set walking route round the castle itself which takes you through both buildings, and across the link bridge that connects the castle to the manor house.

From the castle I continued walking round the grounds, taking in the Great Water as well as the gardens, stopping off for a quick lunch in the castle restaurant, before heading over to the rear of the site to take in the Maze and the Bird of Prey centre, arriving just in time to watch the afternoon falconry display where several of the different birds of prey are allowed to fly amongst the audience.

By the time the display finished I was left with a decision to make as the buses started becoming much less frequent. I could either head back to the bus stop now, or I’d have to hang around for another 2 hours, quite a bit of that at the bus stop as the site was due to close in a little over an hour, so I decided it was probably best to head back to the bus stop and catch the bus back into Maidstone.

Back in Maidstone town centre I went for a bit more of a wander, taking in the town during daylight hours, including the quite nice area around the Archbishops Palace and the river.

I stopped off for a bite to eat in a restaurant near the hotel and then headed back to my hotel room for an early night.