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Castles/Houses, Days Out, Home, Museums, Outdoors, Unusual

Ingatestone Hall

September 30, 2017

Ingatestone Hall

We visited Ingatestone Hall one Sunday and had such a lovely time. A wonderful old house to explore with gardens and a tea room.

The house was built in the 1500’s and has been passed through fifteen generations of the Petre Family. The house is still occupied by the family until this day. Situated in the countryside just 1 mile from Ingatestone in Essex. It’s a splendid Tudor Mansion which retains its original Tudor form and appearance. Inside you will find oak-panelled rooms adorned with furniture and objects gathered over time from many different periods.

The House

As you enter the house into the Inner Court there is a small shop selling gifts and souvenirs and a restaurant situated in The Summer Parlour. They serve light lunches, sandwiches, delicious cakes, and cream teas. Full afternoon teas can also be prebooked. There are lots of paintings on the walls and Eden sat happily drawing her own versions of them!

Exploring the rooms

You start your self guided tour in The Stone Hall, a beautiful large oak panelled room. Each room is adorned with various pieces of furniture and objects collected over the years. There are also lots of personal photos and articles belonging to the family. Eden found looking around the house so interesting, looking at the paintings, tapestries, stuffed animals and various artifacts. She was amazed to find the priests hiding place hidden in the Study and found it fascinating that this was a hiding place for someone once upon a time. The secretive chamber is hidden within a cupboard, entry via a small alcove. At the opposite end there was once an opening where food might have been passed to the priest. Eden insisted on having a photo next to the Priests hiding place.

There is also a second Priests hiding place on the main stair case. It had been lost for many years and was uncovered in 1855 when a child lost its toy through the floorboards in the room above.

There are many rooms to visit within Ingatestone Hall. The Dining Room was particularly impressive, the table laid out in fine silverware ready for entertaining. Upstairs in The Gallery there are lots of glass display cabinets filled with lace, coins and documents. There are so many interesting things to see, you won’t be disappointed.

The Gardens

Ingatestone Hall is surrounded by ten acres of enclosed gardens comprising extensive lawns, walled garden and stew pond. In the garden there are several routes to take around the garden, whether it’s The Lime Walk lined with trees, The Nut walk named as it is lined with Hazel trees and The Wild Walk, an area to encourage wild life. Each one makes an interesting and exciting adventure for little ones. We spent lots of time exploring the gardens, Eden was so excited to explore. For her she found it magical, her imagination ran wild.

Visitor Information

The house and grounds are open from noon to 5 p.m. (last entry 4 p.m.) on Wednesday, Sunday & Bank Holiday Monday afternoons from Easter until the end of September.

The house is now closed for public visits until Easter 2018 but open for special events.

There is free parking available in the Meadow Car Park.

Adults are £7 each

Pensioners £6

Children 5-16 £3

And under 5s are free.

The house is also open to other events and available to hire for weddings and parties. Please see their website for more information.

Thank you for reading Ingatestone Hall – A Review.

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Castles/Houses, Days Out, Outdoors

Leeds Castle – The Loveliest Castle in the World

June 4, 2017

Leeds Castle

Considered ‘The Loveliest Castle in the World’, Leeds Castle is simply stunning. One of my most favourite places to go. I would never get tired of this stunning landscape.

There are so many reasons to love Leeds Castle in Kent. The Castle is set within 500 acres of the most beautiful and picturesque grounds. At the centre a picture perfect castle surrounded by a moat. It’s the perfect place to take children, there is so much there to inspire them and ignite their imaginations.

A nice added bonus is that you only pay to enter once, you can then return as many times as you like within the year. Basically an annual pass for the price of 1 days entry. There aren’t many places that offer that so it’s great value.

The Woodland Walk

Your journey starts with a woodland walk along paths that run alongside babbling brooks and waterfalls. There is an abundance of wildlife to spot along the route. Plenty of wildfowl, woodland birds and insects. We saw so many cute baby swans on our visit! Leeds Castle is famous for its black Swans.

The Castle

I think one of the most interesting facts about the Castle is that it was once the palace used by Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. I love the story of Henry VIII and his wives.

The Castle is steeped in history and as you walk around the grand rooms you can see how it has changed over the years with rooms from different eras. There are gorgeous antiques to view and paintings adorning the walls. The Castle is as pretty inside as it is outside!

There is plenty of information within the Castle with the option of an audio guide. They also have activity sheets for the kids, so Eden was kept busy looking for things as we walked round.

Facilities

The facilities are really good, plenty of places to stop for food and drinks, snacks and ice cream. Toilets are clean and tidy. If you bring your own food there are plenty of gorgeous spots for a picnic.

The Maze & Grotto

There is a large maze to solve and if you are lucky enough to find the centre, it leads to an enchanting grotto underground. The air is cool down there, with mythical creatures made from shells and a water feature. It is very atmospheric, a fascinating place. It is quite dark and noisy down there so could be a little frightening for younger members!

Boat & Train Rides

Should you wish you can take in the view by boat, there is punting available on the moat, or a ferry ride across the lake for a small extra charge.

You can also ride Elsie their train to and from the car park if you wanted for a small extra fee. We often choose to walk through the gardens into the Castle but return on the train. Eden loves it.

Play Areas

There are two wooden play areas at Leeds Castle to keep the little people happy. Squire’s Court for younger kids up to the age of 6 and Knight’s Realm for slighter older kids 7-14 years. Both of them are well put together with exciting tunnels, turrets, slides and zip lines. Plenty to keep the kids busy. There is seating available in and around the play areas for the adults.

Falconary

There are free flying bird of prey presentations running daily, with Hawks, Vulture, Falcons and Owls. You can also see them in their aviaries.

Dark skies exhibition

There is a temporary exhibition running until 31st October 2017, the Battle of the Skies. A surround sound display depicting The Battle of Britain that took part in the skies above Kent. There are two planes there as part of the exhibition.

The Grounds

There is so much to explore at Leeds Castle, the gardens are beautiful. Culpeper garden has the most pretty flowers and box hedges, a typical quaint English country garden.

Every time we visit Leeds Castle we find something new. I would absolutely recommend it and would have to say it’s in my top 5! Eden loves it as much as I do!