Thursday, August 8, 2013
Leeds, Kent
We
could not have asked for a better day for gamboling in the Kentish
countryside—I mean it was a beaut. All that oppressive heat and humidity of
four weeks ago has given way to the lovely cool summer for which England is
known—and, of course, it has to happen when I am getting ready to leave. Trust
my lousy luck! Still, as the English say, Can’t Complain…so I will not!
I did get to 8.00am Mast at St.
Paul’s Cathedral with Cynthia (Michael was saying it), had a quick granola
breakfast with lemony tea and was off on the Tube to Northolt where my friend
Bash had instructed me to meet him. We were on one of our habitual jaunts into
the country to which Bash always treats me because he has a car and is a very
compliant driver. Over the years since I have known him, we have scoured Kent,
the Cotswolds, Sussex, with Wiltshire thrown in for good measure. This time, I
was excited as he was bringing along his new lady friend Kim and I was the
happy witness to their new-found togetherness. Once I was introduced to Kim who
turned out to be a fun person and very jolly compatible company indeed, we set
off on our longish drive to Kent. We were headed to Leeds Castle where we
intended to spend the day. I felt honored as both Bash and Kim had taken the
day off from work to accompany me on this excursion.
Leeds Castle was Mobbed:
A very easy drive on motorways
throughout with just a few traffic glitches got us to Leeds castle by midday. I
was simply stunned to see the number of cars in the car park—clearly Brits are
enjoying ‘staycations’ this year as their weather has never been so warm and
hospitable. And, as I said, today was blissful. We strolled from car park to
ticket booth past glorious parkland for such ancient piles come with massive
packets of land in real estate gifts that were bestowed long centuries ago by
royal edict for services rendered.
The entry fee was steep: 21.50
pounds per head—but it is valid for the year. So it makes sense to reach there
at 10.00 am if possible to truly enjoy all that the day out at Leeds Castle can
offer. And there is plenty. Apart from a Grand Tour of the Castle, there was
the vast grounds in which to picnic—some very sensible people had brought along
those typical English hampers that are so quintessentially a part of an English
summer. There are golf courses, lakes on which large craft ply for the
amusement of kids, trains that ferry passengers from ticket booth to castle
entrance as the walks to and fro can be pretty exhausting, falconry displays
and get this…even punting on the castle moat for a skinny 5 pounds. Had we
arrived earlier and brought a picnic, we could have included this lovely
activity in our agenda. But, of course, as always, we were hard pressed for time
to fit it all in.
A Brief History of Leeds Castle:
The history of Leeds Castle is long
and complicated—suffice it to say that it is mentioned already in the Domesday
Book of 1076. It is named agfer Esledes, the original owner of the castle and
property. Title deeds changed hands several times until Richard II becomes
involved. Once in royal hands, the castle was extended and spruced up, Its most
notorious owner was Henry VIII who gifted it to his first wife Katherine of
Aragon who took occupancy and cozied it up. In the 18th century, it
fell in the hands of the Fairfax family who eventually moved to Fairfax,
Virginia. In the 20th century, when the owners were bankrupt, they
sold it to an American heiress named Bailie who was subsequently made a
Baroness. She hired the French interior decorator Stephane Boudin to modernize
the place and make it livable. His touches are very distinct and her living spaces
are the most warm and friendly.
From
the medieval to the Tudor to the contemporary, a tour of the castle presents a
fine contrast in exterior and interior decorating styles and a history, one
might say, of the manner in which the rich and privileged have lived through
the centuries. There is a medieval fountain, for instance, set in a gabled
courtyard that is lovely and four carved marble busts of Henry VIII and his
three children: Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I and Edward VI. There are red boxes
containing official papers that were used in important international
conventions such as the Camp David summit in 1978 as Leeds Castle was often
used as the venue for such high-level meetings and negotiations. There is the
oldest life-size equestrian sculpture in the world and a strong box that dates
from medieval times. And, above all, there are the stunning views of the
property and the moat from every window on every level that give the entire
place a most glorious feel.
And it is in the moat that the punting
takes place. You can sit and allow yourself to be rowed in the bucolic
environment past vistas of the castle and under arched bridges that must be
simply fabulous. Alas, we did not have the chance to do that as we were simply
starving by the time we finished touring the castle and had to get lunch
urgently.
A
volunteer guide suggested we skip the castle restaurant which was pricey and go
instead to the Village of Leeds to a pub named The George Inn. We complied quite readily, took the train for 50 p
per head, got back into our cars and headed to Leeds Village. We found The George Inn easily enough, poked
around inside, ordered our drinks (Pimms, of course, as it was the perfect day
for such indulgence) and then sat outside on the picnic tables under jolly red umbrellas
to pig out on pub grub: fish and chips
(for me—can’t leave England without it), steak and ale pie for Kim and hot
toasted sausage and caramelized onion sandwiches for Bash. Indeed it was a
memorable lunch and we spent a grand hour lingering over it all.
Cricket on the Bearsted Green:
My guide book 25 Day Trips from London had recommended that we do not miss Bearsted
Village when we visit Leeds Castle and so I passed on the recommendation to
Bash. We decided to forego punting on the moat at Leeds Castle and instead made
our way to the car after lunch to go in search of Bearsted. It took some seeking
as the Green which is the heart of the village is approached through a discreet
side street. But find it we did and we spent the best couple of hours just lingering
in this lovely gracious Kentish village which is the stuff of which poems are
written.
So all the elements that make the perfect
English village are in place here: St. Mary’s Church, the village watering hole,
a small but classy restaurant (The Oak on
the Green), loads of Tudor style houses (some so higgledy-piggledy they could
actually belong to the Tudors), and of course, the distinctive Oast houses of
Kent in which hops were placed for drying to make Kentish beer. These were all
very much in evidence and what’s more, they were all placed, as if by
deliberate design, around a gorgeous Green—a vast expanse of green compound on
which kids rode their bikes, played cricket with their Dads, mums walked babies
in strollers and guys brought their dogs out for a run (one looked suspiciously
like Ferris—I simply had to pinch myself to believe it wasn’t him!). The Green
happened to be named after Alfred Myns, a Victorian cricketer who hailed from
this village and as a left-hander had brought batting glory to these parts. The
village sign bears a portrait of this cricketer playing the game on the Green
in a top hat (which, my cricketer friend Bash informed us—he captains the
Kenton Eleven team) was how the game was played in Victorian times when it was
only the pursuit of Lords! How very interesting.
Tea in the Local:
By them, as Kim put it, we could all
murder for a cup of tea—and so in we went to the pub right behind us for a pot of
Earl Grey. And how very welcome it was too! More chit chatting in a gastro pub
filled with fresh flowers saw us while away some more time. When the village
clock chimed seven o clock, we reluctantly raised ourselves up from the coziness
of our sofas and returned to the car for the lovely drive home.
Bash
and Kim stopped briefly at Amen Court to say Hello to Cynthia and Michael before
heading back to Harrow.
Dinner Chez Colclough:
It was a quiet but companionable
dinner: fish cakes with salad and hummus with ice-cream for dessert. After
dinner, we sat with my PC so Cynthia could see some of my cruise pictures and
then it was time to go to bed after an amazing day.Until tomorrow, Cheerio!
No comments:
Post a Comment