An Englishman's home is his castle

I have lived in Maidstone, with the brief exception of a couple of years spent in London, since I was a mere snippet of just twelve, which is now not far short of forty years ago ... goodness me, where do those years go?  One of the local places of interest I have always wanted to visit, but for some inexplicable reason never have, is Leeds Castle 

My favourite castle photograph of the day!

Isn't it strange how we often travel far and wide to visit attractions, but somehow overlook what is virtually on our own doorstep?  Leeds Castle is only a ten minute drive from my house and yet, despite hearing of its grandeur, I haven't ever set foot in the castle grounds!  A visit was long overdue and last week, Stuart and I set that to rights.

The Castle

It was a classic Spring day with cheery yellow daffodils and warm sunshine beaming, making it the perfect day to wander through the grounds of our lovely local castle, amidst the delightfully regal peacocks.

Welcoming us to the castle grounds, a very regal peacock!

One thing's for sure, we certainly won't be leaving it another forty years until we return!  We have promised ourselves a visit in May to enjoy the bluebells in the ancient woodlands surrounding the castle grounds and as I am sure the formal gardens will be ablaze with Summer colour from June onwards, no doubt we'll be back to admire those too.  We were so enchanted with the grounds, we haven't seen the inside of the castle yet, but as our tickets last all year, I am happy to say, we can afford to save that treat for another day!

Hooray, the maze exit sign at last!

One thing I definitely don't want to do again though, is tackle the castle maze - it's tricky and we took absolutely ages to find our way to the centre grotto and escape from the neat hedgerows, by which time I was quite grumpy!

Showing off, a white peacock!

After our lovely afternoon in the sunshine at Leeds Castle, we strolled back towards the car and were treated to a spectacular display by a pure white peacock who decided to put on a show for us.  It was such a fabulous ending to our visit ... not only have I never visited Leeds Castle before, I've never seen a white peacock either!