Vicarious Tourism: Bodiam and Scotney Castles

For the Bank Holiday weekend, the Husband and I decided it would be a nice idea to take advantage of our extra time together to go do something as a family. So out came the National Trust memberships and we drove over to Kent for a trip around a few castles.

Bodiam Castle, finished in 1385, is a proper, square, moat-surrounded castle; complete with crenelated towers, loopholes, murder holes, a portculis, and thigh-achingly steep staircases. Seriously people; my legs were shaking for a solid ten minutes after the second tower.

Looking at the ducks...and trying to recreate a similar picture
of me and my dad.

Bodiam across the moat.

The day - as you may or may not be able to tell - was completely overcast and featured the occasional torrential downpour. To be honest, the closer we got, the more I was regretting not postponing the trip until Monday. In the end, though, we were able to stay fairly dry throughout the day and still had a lovely time out together - inclement weather not withstanding.

My handsome boys!

In fact, in the end, the thin cloud cover of the day actually made our photos turn out brilliantly! I couldn't have been happier with the results of what was natural diffuse lighting...if only it didn't also mean my hair was starting to shrivel up and go 'poof!' as well.

After Bodiam, we decided to continue making the most of our 4-hour round trip by visiting the nearby Scotney Castle. Scotney isn't so much a castle as a 19th-Century stately home...but one built from the most Romantic-looking medieval-to-Elizabethan hodgepodge of a home I've ever seen. Seriously. If nothing else, I would have wanted to come back in nicer weather for some professional family photos. The setting of this place was idyllic.

Indulging my love of hydrangeas.

The 'Old Castle' which stands on the property just downhill of the main house.

Ethan was in love with everything. He clambered up the stairs; he shrieked and shouted and cackled maniacally; he wandered around pointing out any wildlife from ducks to bees with great enthusiasm.

Oh yes, and he also growled for the camera.

Aside from a few flash-monsoons on the drive home and a slightly cranky baby, we really couldn't have asked for a better day out. The weather didn't hold us back in the least, and everyone enjoyed the chance to stretch their legs amongst some new scenery. We adults certainly felt satisfied that we'd spent our time well for the weekend. Especially when we rounded off the whole day with pizza on the couch, in our pyjamas, after chatting to my family.

Moral of the story? No day is a bad day to go and see a castle.