Adventures in Leeds Castle in Spring

I'm at the 'will it ever end' stage of winter which is why I tend to count the spring equinox as the official start of spring. While it is cold, wet and grey outside, I know that spring will eventually arrive and it will be glorious when it does. In fact, when spring is late, it often results in an explosion of blooms because flowers that normally bloom weeks apart now bloom all at once. I can't wait!

While I'm (im)patiently waiting for spring to arrive, I'm dreaming of the visit I took to Leeds Castle in spring 2019 with my amazing nieces. It was back in the days when I wasn't updating this blog but it's one of the experiences I most wanted to share.

We were blessed with warm, sunny weather which of course felt sub-Arctic to my nieces who'd arrived from a South African summer.

When you arrive at Leeds Castle, you take a long, meandering walk through the grounds before seeing the castle itself. The grounds are immaculately maintained with an abundance of wildlife including swans, geese and ducks.

There are idyllic scenes such as this and I imagine many of England's more shy species come out when the grounds are less busy.

While many castles in Britain were never lived in or never quite completed, Leeds Castle has a rich and varied history dating back to 1119 when Robert de Crevecoeur built the first stone castle on the site.

It was fun exploring the inside of Leeds Castle and it should surprise no one that the library was my favourite room! I was thrilled to see real, antique books in the library - nor props - and former residents at Leeds Castle enjoyed Dickens, Oscar Wilde and Shakespeare.

Did you know that you can get married at Leeds Castle? It's certainly out of many people's budgets but what a dream it must be to get married in such a beautiful location! Many of the packages include a overnight stay for your guests in the castle so that is certainly appealing!

While my nieces found the castle interesting, they loved the falconry display! It was thrilling to see their collection of hawks, eagles and owls in action and we got to learn a lot about these majestic birds of prey.

We finished off our visit with a circuit around the famous maze. I can confirm that it looks easier than it is and there were a handful of tense, claustrophobic moments when I wondered if I would escape!

Leeds Castle
Broomfield
Maidstone
ME17 1PL

Tickets cost £28 for adults, £27 for seniors and £19.50 for children. Your ticket enables you free entry for a full 12 months so you can come back in summer, autumn and for the Christmas markets too.