Continuing our ‘Out and About’ series, with independent reviews of local attractions and amenities.
Some might consider the nature of the word ‘local’ is slightly elasticised this week, depending on your definition of the word, but at only half an hour away, Leeds Castle falls – to my mind, anyway – within the remit of a ‘local’ attraction!
Steeped in nine hundred years of history, Leeds Castle offers a wealth of attractions, including the moat-seated castle itself amidst scenic surroundings; a maze and seashell-strewn grotto; Knights’ Realm adventure playground, a turf maze and play-area for young children; there is also a restaurant as well as a cafe. It also offers a year-round events calendar, which includes a mock jousting tournament in which mounted knights thunder and tilt at each other, with on-lookers in period costume; the day we went, the children were also ‘press-ganged’ into forming a volunteer army for the presiding monach, who looked suspiciously like Henry VIII! Bird displays are provided by ‘World of Wings,’ and there’s an aviary museum featuring an array of exotic birds and daily tours.
The promise of a visit to Leeds Castle is always greeted with alarmingly vibrant enthusiasm by our young offspring, who look forward to crawling around the adventure playground, getting excitingly lost in the maze, and visiting the aviary centre – not to mention getting an ice-cream at the cafe! There’s plenty of parking in the grounds, which also afford plenty of scenic picnic-spots, and a land-train ferries visitors up to the castle and – of particular merit – takes visitors back to the exit which, when your children have worn themselves out during the day, is especially useful; however, unfortunately this year, the Castle has introduced a charge of 50 pence per person to use the land-train, which is a shame.
As usual with such places, the Exit from the Castle grounds takes visitors through the gift shop; those with children need to maintain a strong will here, in order to propel offspring through the shop without being waylaid by all manner of opportunities to spend more money. Take courage, and head straight for the exit door if you can!
Admission prices are published online, which permit unlimited visits for a year and offers excellent value if you plan to visit more than once.
There’s a photographic slideshow of Leeds Castle on its website here.
Idyllic, historic and offering plenty of interest to adults and excellent activities for children: highly recommended.
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Posted by Tom O'Bedlam 
