Three Days in Cranbrook

Dan white knuckled the steering wheel as he tried to maneuver his way through the tree-tunneled, one lane roads on these  rolling hills of Kent  to our destination of Cranbrook.    I found myself holding my breath and clenching the seat as we navigated the roundabouts while in reverse sitting positions in our car rental.   It's hard to get used to being a passenger  on the left side of the car where the driver is supposed to be.    I used the imaginary brake several times before we made it to the Millfields House B & B, our place of sleep for three nights.

Roads along the way

Millfields House

Reflections at the end of the day at Millsfield House

B & B

Bodiam

Our first day out of Cranbrook, we managed to see quite a bit, despite our jetlag.     We almost skipped Bodium Castle because of our crowded agenda, but we're glad we didn't because it turned out to be quite a treasure.   Around 1385, a former knight under Edward II,  Dalyngrigge,  married a woman with lots of land.   Using money he stole from plundering in several battles in France, Dalyngrigge built this spring-fed moated castle more for show than for defense.   

  

A 14th Century Toilet at Bodium

 

The fish in the moat are bigger than the ducks.

 

Knole Manor House

Manor houses around here are quite big and available for touring as well.   Knole Manor is one example of an English Manor house that is bigger than a shopping Mall in Phoenix.    The place comes complete with herds of deer.

 

  Not shy at all

Gardens

One of the truly impressive characteristics of this part of the country is the beautiful manicured gardens.   We visited several including Sissinghurst, Merriment, and the Great Dixter. 

Sissinghurst tower overlooking gardens

Tower in Sissinghurst

Merriment Gardens

 

 

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL

While the cathedral is certainly impressive from the outside

 

and had some interesting sights inside

It didn't seem nearly as impressive as the cathedrals that we had seen in Germany, so we didn't spend that much time there but moved on.

LEEDS

Leeds Castle, voted one of the best castles in the world, is one of my favorite places so far.   Almost as amazing  as the castle itself, are the surrounding  gardens with lakes, streams, and a little waterfall.    The castle itself has quite a history, but the last owner created a magnificent bird sanctuary on the grounds.   I wish I knew the names of all the beautiful waterfowl we saw. 

Swans in Leeds

  Getting a closer look, I'll have to look up the names of these.

Leeds Castle

Quite the birds!

 Rye

Here's what the tourist guide says about Rye.

"Perched on a hill, overlooking the River Rother and Romney Marsh, this ancient town is the sort of place you thought existed only in your imagination.
With enchanting cobbled streets, medieval church and beautifully preserved historic houses from medieval, Tudor and Georgian times, Rye is almost suspended in time and has a uniquely unhurried atmosphere. Compact enough to discover the key places of interest over a week-end but with plenty of secret treasures to entice you to stay much longer and to return again."

My favorite part was the Lamb House, where Henry James wrote his novels, the cobbled streets, and the historic houses.   Definitely worth the trip.

Rye Pie shop

English Breakfast

Traditionally, the English breakfast is a little different from what we're used to with mushrooms and baked tomatoes to go along with our eggs.    Another tasty treat the English like with their breakfast is baked beans, sometimes alone and sometimes on top of toast.   I'm not there, yet.

Our long day yesterday was complete with a walk to a brasserie near our B & B where we had an amazing pasta dinner.   Now we're off to Winchester.