insideKENT Magazine Issue 101 - September 2020 | Page 12

KENTSTAYCATION
Reigning Supreme:
KENT’S CASTLES
& GARDENS
BY JESS MARSHALL
KENT IS NOT JUST FAMOUS FOR BEING THE GARDEN OF ENGLAND, IT IS ALSO WELL AND TRULY THE LAND OF CASTLES,
HISTORY AND ROYALTY. THE COUNTY IS QUITE LITERALLY LITTERED WITH STONE FORTRESSES THAT ONCE STOOD IN DEFENCE
OF ENGLAND BY OUTSIDE INVADERS. THEY HAVE INTRIGUE, MYSTERY AND SECRETS PACKED INTO EVERY CREVICE AND ARE
PILLARS OF NOT JUST KENTISH HISTORY BUT BRITISH HISTORY. WHETHER THEY ARE 12TH CENTURY GATEWAYS TO ENGLAND,
OR 11TH CENTURY MASTERPIECES BY THE DAY’S LEADING BISHOPS, ALL OF THESE CASTLES HAVE WALLS THAT SCRAPE
AGAINST THE HEAVENS AND ARCHITECTURE THAT HAS STOOD THE TEST OF WARS, WEATHER AND TIME. THEY ARE THE
PERFECT PLACE FOR A FAMILY DAY OUT, A ROMANTIC STROLL, OR EVEN A ONE-OF-A-KIND EVENING DINNER OR AFTERNOON
TEA SET TO THE BACKDROP OF THESE KENTISH HOUSEHOLD NAMES. THE IDYLLIC COUNTRYSIDE EXCURSION FOR HISTORY
LOVERS, WITH ACTIVITIES TO AMUSE THE SMALLEST KIDS, AND THE BIGGEST KIDS!
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