Leeds Castle

For my last day in the country, we visited Leeds Castle in Kent, which has a very interesting history. Unlike many of the castles in England, which are managed by English Heritage, Leeds Castle is privately owned by a trust. After belonging to royal households prior to the 1600s, the castle was given to one of King Henry the eighth's court by Charles 1st. Over the years, it was eventually sold and families such as the Fairfaxes, Culpeppers and others have kept it within their families. The last owner Lady Olive Ballie bought it in 1948 and had French interior designers refurbish many of the rooms, but it retains historical features. The surrounding gardens are absolutely beautiful, with waterways, mature trees and flower gardens, and an abundance of bird life.

 Lots of geese. Nice ones!

 The symbol of the castle is the black swan, which was originally imported by the last owner from it's native Australia.

 There is a moat surrounding the castle, where visitors can take boat rides.

 This castle reminded me of the French castles in the Loire Valley, that were built for luxury rather than defence and are set in the middle of extensive grounds, with a surrounding moat. Beautiful!

 Yes, there is a maze in the grounds and yes, we got lost in it.

 The castle is used for conferences and weddings and the guests can stay in the refurbished bedrooms. What an amazing setting for wedding photos!

 My last meal in England was traditional fish and chips with a Pimms to boot! In the garden of an 18th century pub, of course. In the morning I will be homeward bound, via Gatwick airport. Cheerio!

Windsor

Having travelled on country roads for several days, we were not prepared for what the motorways in and around London had in store for us. Bumper to bumper traffic and scrambling for non-existant parking spaces in the city of Windsor wasn't a pleasant way to start our visit to Windsor Castle. It was also a very hot day, by anybody's standards and the poms and the tourists were all out in force, making the most of the last few days of the English school holiday break. We finally found a parking space and went to visit Lizzy - who was in residence on this day, as she had a function in the castle this evening.

 

 Known as The Long Walk - unfortunately we had parking meter commitments and we had to make it a short one. Quite an impressive driveway though! We will spend the night in Islington, in London, in AG's daughter's flat.

Exmoor

Moving at a more leisurely pace, we are spending the day travelling to Exmoor, which is north of Devon. The green, rolling hills covered in farms, changed to more heavily wooded areas. The hedgerows were particularly high, making driving on the narrow roads rather precarious.

 As we climbed higher and on to the moors, the landscape became quite stark and devoid of trees and those that defy the weather conditions and reach over a metre high, are generally twisted and deformed. We spotted some Exmoor ponies, but they declined to be photographed. It was warmer than usual for this time of year and the whole region was clouded in a dry summer haze. You can see purple heather in the foreground here.

 We saw some spectacular landscapes as we reached the coast, which is the north coast of the western part of England. You will notice all the mad English families forcing their kids out onto the mudflats and into the water armed with buckets and fishing nets.

 Lovely rocky outcrops on the 'beach.'

 This body of water is the bit of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from the southern coast of Wales.

 It was a round trip today - we will spend the night in Devon and then set off for London tomorrow, on the final leg of the journey.

Devon

Now back in southern England, we are staying in one place for a couple of nights. We are lucky enough to be spending some time in a small, rural village called Templeton in Devon, in a 450 year old cob wall and thatched farmhouse owned by AG's friends. It is a 'bank holiday' in England (long weekend to us) and we are attending a fund raising event being held in the village hall. There will be skittles, home made cakes and fudge and darts later tonight.

I can't resist a country farm gate. This is just a couple of minutes walk away from the house.

Friendly...?...Devon cows...I mean bulls.

I love all the old stone buildings that are still in use today. We had dinner in a 200 year old ostler's house and blacksmith's forge. They still use the fireplace in winter.

The darts challenge proved to be a draw, which was a better result than the ashes. We came prepared, with our own special Aussie flag darts. It was a terrific night, with lots of laughs and friendly competition and cider.

Scotland to England

We are heading south from Scotland back to England today for the final week. The Palace of Scone is the place where Scottish monarchs have been crowned. It is set in magnificent grounds in a walled estate.

 This is the chapel within the grounds of the palace, with the Stone of Scone set in the foreground, which has been significant since ancient times. This is a replica stone of course, as the original is held in Edinburgh Castle with the Scottish Crown jewels. It was in the possession of the Royal Family until the current Queen Elizabeth agreed to return it to Scotland as a gesture of goodwill.

 More Highland cows!! This one is scratching its butt on a tree stump.

 And here's a baby one!!

The second historic complex today was Stirling Castle, which is set high on a rocky hill, in a similar fashion to Edinburgh Castle. It has a magnificent view of the city of Stirling and the surrounding countryside, including the site of the Battle of Culloden - now mostly covered with houses.

 It has beautifully appointed rooms that have been repainted and redecorated with new tapestries, which is not always seen in historic castles. I guess it is a choice they have made, rather than allow the original paintwork and draperies to fade beyond recognition.

 Stirling has some fabulous examples of old architechture.

 As we left Scotland, we entered England via the Peaks District, but it was very foggy and difficult to photograph up high in the hills.

 There was a lovely tea room sitting alone on top of a 'peak' which had a table in the middle of it, simply groaning under the weight of the cake selection for the day. How could we resist?

We made it to the south of England and back to Devon, where we will spend a couple of days. I don't think I've ever seen two toned cows quite like this before. As you can see, the weather has been wonderful.

No Sign of Nessie

After the Isle of Skye and the Cuillans, we set off for Loch Ness, but not before a chance encounter with a Highland Cow. I love these big hairy things! They do look rather scary though.

Here is the ruined Urquardt Castle on the banks of Loch Ness. It was another beautiful sunny day.

We called in to a small town called Elgin and visited the grounds of the Elgin Cathedral, which was ruined during the reformation years.

The Cairngorms were shrouded in fog as we drove through them. Tomorrow, we head back into England.