1 April 2023 - Bodiam
Miles driven today = 28
Total Miles to date = 313
It felt eerily quiet when we awakened from our slumbers this morning. The wind had indeed subsided and we were no longer being buffeted as if we were being shoved around by the playground bully.
So we wished a fond fairwell to our hosts Andy & Louise at Romney Meadows and headed initially to the famous beach at Camber Sands where we found a space to park. The tide was in and in the slightly more benign conditions there were a few hardy souls out there enjoying themselves in the rollers on surfboards, paddleboards and kayaks.
As we continued towards Rye we admired the new cycle path which is managed by our mate Lydia. Being a Saturday we felt it best to by-pass the town itself and leave it for the next time we are in these parts. Instead we navigated our way through the lush Kent contryside towards Great Dixter House & Gardens in Northiam. I'm guessing on any week day we would have had relatively few people for company but on the first weekend of the Easter break and with a renowned plant sale taking place it seemed as though half the population of Kent had the same idea. While we were waiting in the queue of traffic Lisa jumped out to ask a steward whether we would be able to find space to park and was told that most of the parking was on grass which is a big red flag for us when the ground is as saturated as it currently is.
So we carefully extracted ourselves from the queue and instead made our way to Bodiam where the famous moated castle is under the care of the National Trust. As you approach the castle there is no apparent way in.
However, on the far side as you approach is a causeway to the main entrance. This used to have a dog-leg in it so that any enemy approaching would have to run the gaunlet of the castle's archers.
The castle was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dallingridge with permission of King Richard II in order to provide protection from any possible French invasion. The oak portcullis is original and is one of the oldest in the country.
The moat is home to a population of sizeable carp. The castle is also the site of one of the most important bat roosts in the country.
The interior of the castle is predominantly ruined but it is still easy to see how the various different rooms and quarters were laid out and these are identified with the help of useful information boards.
This is the well which adjoined the kitchens.
You can still climb to the top of two of the towers and also walk a short section of the battlements. This is the interior of the castle viewed from the Postern Tower
A steam train leaving Bodiam Station and oast houses viewed from the top of the North West Tower.
One of the Castle's 33 fire places all of which had to be kept alight by the servants.
We asked how old the grafitti is. The oldest dated initials are from 1691 but there are also "witches marks" to ward off evil spirits which are thought to date from shortly after the Castle was constructed.
We've managed to nab ourselves a spot for the night in the car park of the Castle Inn which is just across the road from the entrance to the Castle itself.
I just about managed to eek out enough data signal to stream the Tractor Boys' fantastic 2-0 away win at Derby before we headed inside for tea. We were very impressed with the variety of the menu. I had Seafood Gumbo while Lisa had Pollock with Celeriac Mash, Endame and Mange Tout.
What with having to scrub Great Dixter for this trip we are thinking that tomorrow we will go and have a look around Vita Sackville-West's gardens at Sissinghurst. We'll look to get there early before the hordes descend but we are really struggling to find somewhere to stay locally afterwards. Lots of small private campsites are opening to take advantage of the Easter break but invariably in this part of the World they all seem to solely have grass pitches which would almost certainly result in us sinking into the mire and having to be towed out. I did ring one site which has hardstanding but they are fully booked and the situation is unlikely to improve as we approach the Easter weekend. So we are thinking that we draw stumps on this trip and head for home tomorrow afternoon. But we'll definitely be back in this part of the World again when things are a bit quieter and less soggy.
Comments
Post a Comment