Leeds Castle, Maidstone. Kent,
Back in April we spent a lovely day at Leeds Castle.
Leeds Castle is set in 500 acres of parkland and dates back to 1119 although a manor house stood on the site from the 9 century. There is so much to see, with the beautiful parkland and gardens, an aviary, a maze which was set up in 1988 and the kids loved it. There is also a golf course in the grounds and another one off is The Dog Collar Musuem which I beleive is the only one that exists.
The castle in the beautiful grounds
This is the view you get of the castle when walking from the car park through the grounds.
Black Swan
Around the lakes there were a few nesting black swans, this one was sitting on her eggs and doing some housework to her nest.
The winding stream
The walk from the car park to the castle was through the lovely parkland grounds, here is one of the streams winding through the wooded area.
The lovely grounds of the castle
The gardens and grounds of the castle are just wonderful to walk through.
The last view
This was the last picture I took and it's one of my favourites.
In 1974 after the death of Lady Baillie the castle was left to Leeds Castle Foundation which is a private charitable trust. It was finally opened to the public in 1976.
I can't tell you how much we enjoyed our visit, the grounds and castle are lovely, it's well worth a trip here if you're in the area.