Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle
Sunday 10th June 2007
A day out to visit Leeds Castle down in Kent.
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| 14:10:57 So here we are now in the grounds of Leeds Castle. | 14:11:01 ...it does make a nice backdrop. | 14:12:28 One of the outlying parts of the castle - satisfyingly crumbling. |
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| 14:13:16 ...and there's the main bit in its full moat encircled glory. | 14:13:35 Me and Chie - there had to be at least one picture like this I'm afraid. | 14:18:23 Chie in front of a portcullis. |
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| 14:19:24 ...on the bridge leading into the main gate. | 14:23:20 Me, as seen through a lavender bush. | 14:23:27 ...and again. |
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| 14:25:46 Nice round tower here - slightly reminiscent of the Dordogne. | 14:26:14 The way the castle rises out of the water here is very aesthetically pleasing, however I am inclined to think they had terrible damp problems. | 14:29:40 This corridor bit is inside the part that looked like a bridge in the previous picture (I really feel I'm a bit lacking in the appropriate castle nomenclature here). |
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| 14:32:08 These windows really appealed to me - nice to look out directly onto water. | 14:32:32 Quite impressive wooden beams on the ceiling too. | 14:32:53 A rather delightful little courtyard. Presumably when the castle was under siege this could have been a hazardous place to dwell, as the cows and giant wooden rabbits hurled by the besieging forces might land here. |
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| 14:33:29 I'm pondering here. | 14:33:35 ...one last picture of the courtyard - it was jolly nice as courtyards go. | 14:37:01 I was also very fond of this staircase - the sort of thing I would hope to find in an old public school building. |
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| 14:46:12 Taken out of one of the windows, on the upper level of that corridor bridge thing I was struggling to describe above. | 14:51:04 You can't beat these Chinese/Japanese dressing screens. | 14:52:42 It is probably superfluous to note that this was taken in the library. |
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| 14:57:04 Once back outside we spent a while messing about with self timer shots, most of which I have erased. One notable problem here is that I entirely forgot to be in shot. | 14:58:22 ...well, OK, but we're a bit far away. | 14:58:43 That's better! Incidentally, the camera didn't move at all between these two shots, so you can have literally seconds of fun my flipping backwards and forwards between this and the previous picture. |
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| 14:59:47 Nice bit of flora, with the hot air balloon thing in the background. | 15:00:58 Yet another self timer shot - we'd found a relatively good flat topped wall by this point. | 15:01:37 Chie sitting on the grass in front of the main bit of the castle - looks nice doesn't it? |
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| 15:07:08 Have already photographed this bit, but thought it looked nice from this angle as well. | 15:08:58 The castle as seen across the moat. Very picturesque don't you think? | 15:09:04 ...I thought I'd also give it a go in portrait. |
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| 15:19:42 We stopped off at the cafe for a late lunch / afternoon tea, and got a table out on the terrace which had some nice views. | 15:36:55 ...looking slightly the other way. | 15:40:17 Between us we had a Ploughman's and an afternoon tea set. Both were quite passable. |
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| 16:10:52 After our refreshments, we took a further stroll around the grounds, taking in these pleasant gardens... | 16:11:36 ...the gardens from the other angle. | 16:24:20 Next up we went to the maze, in fact this picture is taken once we got to the centre. Chie claimed afterwards she enjoyed this, but at the time seemed quite concerned we'd become horribly lost and never getting out. Being a man I of course refused to admit I was lost, or to ask for directions... |
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| 16:29:55 Chie poking her nose into the vineyard. I had a glass of the wine they made here with my Ploughman's, and it was surprisingly nice. | 16:31:29 Another picture of the maze. I wish I could pass on some tips for how we made it to the centre in such a relatively short space of time, however I fear I would be lying if I claimed it to be anything more than sheer bloody mindedness. | 16:42:29 Starting to head back now, but a few more castle themed photo opportunities to be had on the way. |
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| 16:52:39 The castle seen from a far, with some kind of interesting duck like creature in the foreground. | 16:52:55 Can you name this bird? Answers on a postcard to... | 16:54:01 I was mildly amused by this Peacock's somewhat ineffectual attempts at hiding. The tail's a bit of a giveaway, mate. |
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| 16:56:48 Up close on the hot-air balloon which nudged its way into a couple of the earlier shots. | 17:49:46 Waiting on Bearsted station for the train back to London - Chie decided to see what I looked like in her glasses. A tad Eric Morecombe, methinks. | 17:49:50 ....errr. |
